25 Apr 2020

Over 7 000 beneficiaries in the Southern District received COVID-19 relief food baskets as at April 24.

In an interview, the Southern District council secretary, Mr Charles Amos, said the programme was going well, save for small glitches.

He said in Good Hope Sub-district, they identified 4 556 beneficiaries and all of them had already been provided with the food baskets. He said out of the 2 569 recommended in Mabutsane Sub-district, 1975 had benefitted.

However, he noted that Kanye Administrative Authority (KAA) and Moshupa Sub-district were lagging behind in distribution due to delay in identifying suppliers.

He said  215 out of the identified 2 351 beneficiaries had been assisted in KAA, while 980 of the 2 040 that were recommended benefitted in Moshupa Sub-district. He noted that the two sub-districts started with packaging food items from primary schools thereby causing delay in the process.

Nonetheless, Mr Amos noted that they had deployed more personnel to KAA to reinforce the process and help expedite the programme, especially concerning emergency situations.

Additionally, he noted that the COVID-19 district command centre members went around the sub-districts to find better ways to handle the food baskets programme.

He noted that they engaged structures such as village development committees, tribal leaders and area councillors to help in the assessment process. He said through their help, they had been able to effectively implement the programme.

Mr Amos urged Batswana to be honest during assessment since government’s intention was to cushion deserving families against COVID-19 effects. He also called for cooperation with social workers.

He also noted that since the programme required quick response, they had identified supplies who had the capacity to meet the demand. However, he said they regulated prices to ensure  that the suppliers did not exceed the recommended ceiling.

He said farmers were also benefitting since farm produce such as maize, watermelons and beans, among others were included in the food rations. ENDS