Durban - KwaZulu-Natal Premier Sihle Zikalala has conceded that the major problem facing the residents of Chatsworth were crime and drugs.
“When it comes to criminality the people in the formal settlements blame those from the informal settlements, but the other criminality is drugs and drugs are found at formal settlements. We need to unite to maintain peace,” Zikalala said.
He said there is a need for projects to benefit the locals to live and sustain themselves.
Zikalala promised the locals that they would be back to the community.
Speaking at the Pentecostal Church in Chatsworth on Friday, his foundation partnered with the Moti Group Foundation to distribute about 2 million meals as well as sanitary towels, blankets and PPE essentials to the community and in the next few days they will distribute more in other areas in the province.
One of the beneficiaries, Sthembile Zungu, said she was happy that these food parcels and other essentials came at the right time.
“My family of six and I are grateful for this great gesture. I am unemployed and so is my mother. We rely on grants to survive and in the past few days we were unable to even buy bread,” said Zungu.
Other beneficiaries, Nolubabalo Nomaqaqa and Pontsho Lesapo, also expressed gratitude, saying these food parcels and blankets would go a long way in their families.
Chief adviser of the Moti Group, Ashruf Kaka, said the initiative was launched with the vision of South Africans giving a hand-up to other fellow South Africans, no matter their race or creed.
“A humanitarian crisis is unfolding in KZN, with numerous families falling victim to hunger, supply shortages and a desperate struggle for survival. This is not the time to lay blame, communities have been brought to their knees and it is our duty to help where needed,” Kaka said.
He added that hunger does not differentiate, and all they know now is that there are many impoverished people in dire need of food.
“As South Africans, we must work together in the spirit of compassion and ubuntu to help families and households in urgent need. Ultimately, we are one humanity and one nation,” he said.
To achieve the goal of providing 2 million meals to families in need, goods distributed will include 70 tons of rice, 30 tons of dahl and 10 000 Nutriwell boxes each containing 95 scientifically developed and nutritious meals such as instant porridge, vegetable soup, soya stew and instant shakes which can sustain a single individual for three months.
The foundation said food and essential goods will be distributed over the next few days to the communities identified by the Sihle Zikalala Development Trust in conjunction with local authorities as those that are the most in need following the recent violent riots.
These left 13 people from Chatsworth, east of Durban, dead.
KwaZulu-Natal Health MEC Nomagugu Simelane confirmed that the number of unidentified bodies kept at the Phoenix Medico-Legal Mortuary had increased to 57, however not all those deaths were unrest related.
Simelane said while the 500-body capacity mortuary may be close to full, it did not mean that all the bodies kept at the facility were related to deaths that occurred during the violence in the province last week.
Political Bureau