In actioning our commitment as a caring city during the COVID-19 pandemic, the City of Cape Town is reprioritising our Ward Allocations Budgets to unlock the financial capacity to assist our struggling residents with food and sustenance provision.
On Tuesday 21 April 2020 President Cyril Ramaphosa announced a stimulus social and economic relief package to mitigate some of the impacts caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, and although we also support the efforts of our national government, we are fully aware the rollout of this relief is going to take weeks before it actually gets to our people.
The City is committed to working in tandem with collective efforts of the National and Western Cape Governments to ensure that residents have food on their tables.
In actioning the City’s commitment, Councillors are playing their part and making sure they can contribute and support their different communities. Subcouncils have revisited the Ward Allocation Budgets looking for savings and projects affected by the lockdown, which might not be completed by June 2020, so that these allocated monies can be reprioritised and redirected to the Mayoral fund for food security for vulnerable residents.
This inevitable and necessary lockdown, which is in its fourth week is having devastating effects on the economy and household incomes leaving a lot of families in dire need of food and insecure of their next meal. Many households have been pushed into hunger and starvation which is very concerning to the City.
As an organ of state, the City is mandated to take preventative measures to protect residents in what has been declared by the President as a National State of Disaster.
The objective is to ensure that in this critical phase of lockdown and while the relieve announced by the President finally reaches them, we assist our communities.
The City’s food relief programme will be rolled through all 24 Subcouncils and recognised NGOs as soon as the budget reprioritisation is completed. More information will be made available once the details have been finalised.
The City also wants to urge all residents to continue complying with the lockdown Regulations and practise sound hygiene all times. The COVID-19 pandemic can be defeated if we work together.