Tshwane politician, ANC veterans accused of ‘food parcel fraud’

The Tshwane Head Administrator has landed himself in hot water this week, after allegedly organising a meeting with military veterans about food parcels that broke several protocols of lockdown.

Mpho Nawa is accused of flouting social distancing laws, drawing large crowds and even making a mockery of the food parcel system. The ANC representative allegedly conspired to hand his party’s military veterans designated food parcels for the local community of Tshwane, ensuring they skipped the queue.

Food parcels: Why prioritising ANC veterans is frowned upon

This is quite problematic: Randall Williams is a councillor in the region, and he has explained that military veterans have more support than ordinary citizens who are going hungry to. It boils down to this:

• Military veterans already have support programmes in place and don’t need to “double-up” on relief packages.
• The Department of Military Veterans and Defence are in place to serve these veterans.
• The Military Veterans Benefits Regulations allow veterans access to critical support.
• Interventions available to them include housing, healthcare, education, pensions as well as social and burial support.
• There’s also the implication that these people are being prioritised based solely on their political allegiances.

Breaking the law of lockdown

The meeting itself, which has been branded “despicable” by Williams, also endangered a number of elderly citizens who were in attendance. Pensioners are one of the most vulnerable groups during this global health crisis, and encouraging groups of them to meet in one place is decidedly reckless. Nawa is yet to respond to the allegations, but the DA won’t let this one go:

Nawa convened a “stakeholder” meeting to distribute food parcels to Military Veterans and Elders of the African National Congress (ANC). The DA has long known that Nawa is a deployee of the ANC, but prioritising ANC military veterans above thousands of elderly people who need food parcels is despicable.

“The meeting was in total violation of the regulations published by the government. During the meeting Mpho Nawa was not wearing a mask. The groups he met with are both considered high risk, due to their age, and luring them to the City of Tshwane with the promise of receiving food parcels is shockingly dangerous.”

Randall Williams