Note to editors: Please find attached English soundbite by Refiloe Nt’sekhe MPL.
Thousands of Gauteng residents are experiencing extreme hunger following the Gauteng Department of Social Development’s (GDSD) controversial decision to centralise food banks in the province, with some households going for days without food, despite being officially recorded as beneficiaries of assistance.
The findings from the Household Food Insecurity Report 2026 confirm that hunger is deepening in Gauteng, not due to a lack of resources. Rather, it stems from the poorly conceived centralisation of food bank operations across the province, a structural decision that has introduced significant logistical and access barriers for vulnerable households.
See report here.
Furthermore, analysis of GDSD’s food security performance in Quarters 2 and 3 of the 2024/25 financial years reveals a pattern of distribution strength but access weakness. While food parcels distributed through Food Distribution Centres (FDCs) exceeded targets in both quarters — 42,684 against a target of 31,950 in Quarter 2, and 66,906 against 47,925 in Quarter 3 — household-level access did not perform at the same level. Moreover, in Quarter 2, only 45,981 households accessed food against a target of 106,050, reflecting a significant shortfall.
These figures suggest that while logistical distribution volumes increased under the new food distribution model, the effective reach at the household level lagged. The contrast suggests transitional disruptions and potential accessibility challenges after centralisation.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) has consistently warned MEC Faith Mazibuko that centralisation is not the solution. We have cautioned that removing community-based NPOs from direct food distribution would create bottlenecks and distance the department from the lived realities of vulnerable communities. These warnings were ignored, contributing to unmet food parcel targets and increasing food insecurity among vulnerable homes.
This contradicts Premier Panyaza Lesufi’s statement in the State of the Province Address, which declared it ‘compulsory’ for the Gauteng government to protect the weak, poor, and vulnerable members of our society. His administration is clearly harming them.
A DA-led Gauteng Provincial Government would decentralise food parcel distribution and ensure that they are accessible to vulnerable people through NPOs. By implementing proper supply chain management alongside careful planning and execution, we can prevent delays and make food parcels more reliably accessible, ultimately ending hunger.