The information - which included the reasons why these NGOs are funded by the department - was made known by Minister Lindiwe Zulu.

Some of the reasons includes that most of the NGOs support households which have no income, while some NGOs support child-headed households; and households with learners benefiting from the school feeding scheme. Zulu’s reply further details that each of the NGOs services food insecure people in the community where they are located.

The criteria that the 213 NGOs funded by the department use in order to support people, includes chronically food insecure households that experience hunger and have no access to one balanced meal per day; households with unemployed people living with HIV/AIDS and other chronic diseases, and households with malnourished individuals referred by clinics and hospitals.

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Zulu was asked to provide the information of NGOs funded by the department, by the DA Member in the National Assembly, Gizella Opperman.

The information revealed that there are at least 40 510 people being supported by the 213 NGOs. Some of these centers include:

•Centers that cares for older people, which is any active older person above the age of 60 years, and there is a funding of R12 per person per day for 16 days per month provided by Government.

•Residential programmes for older persons, which are frail older persons who need 24-hour care.

•Child and Youth Care Centres, which focuses on children found to be in need of care and protection in the province.

•Soup kitchens and community development centers.

Zulu previously revealed that over 39% of households in the province have an income of less than R624 per month, according to the latest statistics provided to the department.

She stated that one of the reasons for the rate of poverty in the province could be because it is vast and rural, although it has the smallest population in the country. She further stated that job opportunities are scarce in rural areas, leading to people’s relocation to urban areas in the hopes of finding employment.

Zulu also revealed that the province has an unemployment rate of over 24% - according to the Quarterly Labour Force Survey of Statistics South Africa (1st Quarter).

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