Programme Director;
MEC for Social Development, Women, Children and People with Disabilities, Ms Mosetsanagape Mokomele-Mothibi;
Executive Mayor of Ngaka Modiri Molema District Municipality, Cllr Phaladi Saku;
Mayor of Ratlou Local Municipality, Cllr Victor Mance;
Representatives from FoodBank South Africa;
Esteemed Traditional Leaders;
Religious Leaders and Councillors;
Ladies and gentlemen;
Pula!!!
We are here to launch an important campaign which affirms that everyone has the right to life and dignity.
Our government is committed to the agenda of social transformation that is embodied in the principle of social justice and the Bill of Rights as enshrined in the Constitution and the Freedom Charter, the two cornerstones of our democracy.
The Constitution commits government to take reasonable measures, within its available resources, to ensure that all South Africans have access to adequate housing, healthcare, education, food, water and social security.
The challenges of poverty and unemployment have contributed significantly to the worrying living conditions under which many of our people live.
Other problems such as the effects of HIV and AIDS have left many children destitute, also giving rise to child-headed households in the country. On the other hand, there are many women who are stuck in abusive marriages or relationships due to income poverty.
It is for this reason that the ruling party, the African National Congress (ANC), has proclaimed that a “national democratic state should continually implement integrated anti-poverty programmes, ensuring that these programmes address not only social assistance, but also sustainable integration of all communities into economic activity.”
Today, we are launching the Food for All Campaign as a measure to address incidents of extreme hunger and malnutrition – also as a vehicle to restore the dignity of many South Africans, including children, who experience hunger.
We have noted with great shock and sadness the recent death of four children due to hunger and dehydration in the community of Verdwaal in Itsoseng, here in the North West.
Through this campaign, we aim to deal with unfortunate incidents of this nature by:
- increasing awareness of the plight of people facing food insecurity and malnutrition in South Africa;
- continuously galvanising all relevant and willing stakeholders to respond to the plight of food insecurity and malnutrition; and
- aggressively targeting wards where malnutrition is excessively high.
Our efforts to reduce hunger and malnutrition are part of the effective measures to address other socio-economic challenges such as crime, unemployment, ill health and poor education in the country.
An estimated 21,9% of South African households have inadequate or severely inadequate access to food. Food access problems are most serious in North West where 33,3% of households have inadequate or severely inadequate food access. This is followed by KwaZulu-Natal (26,9%), Northern Cape (26%), Free State (23,6%) and Limpopo (20,6%) and Eastern Cape (20,3%).
Already government has put in place other measure to fight extreme hunger and poverty which this campaign will complement. These include our Social Assistance Programme which provides relief to over 15,3 million South Africans, who constitute 30% of the population.
Evidence shows that predictable cash transfers not only reduce poverty amongst direct beneficiaries and their households, and improve wealth distribution, but also generate economic growth within local communities.
The statistics coming from the Social Assistance Programme show that it is mostly women who are affected by poverty. About 98% of the Child Support Grants are applied for and collected by women who are the caregivers. This attests to the reality that poverty is feminised in our country.
As we enjoy ourselves during this festive season, we know that some families face the prospects of a bleak Christmas as a result of poverty. We therefore believe that this campaign will help us bring a smile in the families of the families who will benefit from this campaign here in Ngaka Modiri Molema District Municipality, especially because we will distribute 200 food parcels in seven villages as part of this launch.
We have to highlight that this launch is done in partnership with FoodBank South Africa. FoodBank South Africa has an important role to play in food security. It will provide storage for food that will be distributed on merit to identified poor families and households.
It is estimated that about 14 million South Africans are vulnerable to food insecurity – meaning that they do not know where their next meal will come from. The resulting hardship and vulnerability poses a challenge to our social, emotional and economic development.
Over the past 17 years, both the private sector and civil society have tried to address hunger and malnutrition. However, with little cooperation between these sectors, the response has been fractured and the impact inadequate.
As government, we are partnering with FoodBank South Africa to ensure that we reach out to many communities, especially the most impoverished wards of our country. We also call on the private and business sectors to join hands with us to protect our people from hunger and malnutrition. We are here to declare war against hunger and malnutrition. As part of this effort, we urge parents to ensure that children remain in schools so that they can have a better future in a bid to curb intergenerational poverty.
In 2010, about 81 percent of the schools in South Africa were no-fee schools, benefiting 11,8 million learners. Programmes such as the Integrated Nutrition Programme, the Primary School Feeding Scheme and Early Childhood Development have proven to be some of the successful initiatives that have an impact in eradicating poverty and hunger among poor children in schools and early learning centres. It is important to strengthen these initiatives as part of our strategy to keep children in school until they complete their studies.
As we celebrate the festive season, I wish to remind all South Africans to think about the poor and the needy. This is a season of giving and sharing. Let us all be safe and report those who abuse women and children to the police.
Let us not abuse alcohol. Let us report taverns or shebeens that sell alcohol to children and pregnant women!
Thank you
