Social development MEC unveils ‘new integrated’ plan to fight poverty

Multisector programme to address infant mortality, malnutrition and child poverty while huge agriculture project aims to help

The provincial government this week painted a bleak picture of the dire poverty faced by millions, especially in rural parts of the Eastern Cape, adding the situation is expected to worsen.

But, addressing the media in Bhisho on Tuesday, social development MEC Siphokazi Mani-Lusithi revealed the government had a new plan.

It has reviewed and integrated its anti-poverty strategy and this would be key in addressing food shortages and poverty going forward.

Working with the health department, social development is championing a co-ordinated multisector programme to address infant mortality, malnutrition and child poverty in parts of OR Tambo and Alfred Nzo districts.

She said in the past few months, 45,000 food parcels had been distributed to destitute households. R78m has been set aside to provide such parcels to poor households in the future.

Speaking at the same event, rural development and agrarian reform MEC Nomakhosazana Meth said Engcobo, Matatiele and Mbhashe were the areas with the most child-headed households, who were finding it especially hard to make ends meet and suffering severe nutritional deprivation.

The main programme that seeks to address food production at household level, Meth said, aims to support beneficiaries with production inputs to help them grow vegetables and rear chickens.

The programme, with a budget of R40m, hopes to support 20,000 households.

Out of 1.8 million households in the province more than 464,000 experience food insecurity, with Alfred Nzo, OR Tambo, Amathole and Joe Gqabi districts the hardest hit, Mani-Lusithi said.

Many households’ sole source of income was government grants.

A total of 1.9 million people receive grants. Most of them — 71% — are young people.

Mani-Lusithi said the majority of citizens in the province were faced with a “stubborn and persistent deprivation of basic human needs, which includes food insecurity, malnutrition and unsafe drinking water, as well as inadequate sanitation facilities”.

This dire situation is compounded by low educational levels, HIV and Aids and unemployment.