RISE Mzansi leader, Songezo Zibi, has pledged to expunge food insecurity in South Africa if elected into government.
He spoke at his party’s soup kitchen campaign at Sparrow Ministries-Hospice for People With Aids, in Johannesburg.
South Africa is under siege in terms of food security and the current government is failing to render constitutional services, being water and sufficient food to its people, the leader said.
The senior team and members of RISE Mzansi embarked on a weekend of service, where they managed soup kitchens across the country in celebration of the party’s first year anniversary, which was launched on April 19 last year.
Oxfam, an organisation working to curb poverty and food insecurity, reported an estimated 58 million of South Africans, and within the region, experience food insecurity; while 18.6 million children are stunted due to malnutrition.
“Our society has been deliberately broken, and the ANC government will never lift a finger to lift us out of the daily crisis of hunger, which is why we need to elect new leaders who have a plan,” said Zibi.
Zibi outlined that RISE Mzansi has formidable plans to dissolve food hunger. He said food waste must end, which will need stakeholders in the food industry and farmers to separate and redistribute food that has not deteriorated via NGOs, or directly to impoverished communities.
In support of single mothers, as per the party’s declarations, RISE Mzansi proposes the child grant to increase immediately to R680, and additionally increase it to R1335 in 2026 for households headed by single mothers. “The increase will significantly reduce malnutrition, which has long-term negative outcomes on children, such as stunting. It will relieve all impoverished parents, and in particular, low-income single mothers who have no help with child support,” said Zibi.
He vowed to expand the national school nutrition programme (NSNP). “This will be done where it is practicable in terms of transport costs, so that our children are fed 365 days a year, and not just during school terms. We will increase the amount spent on each child annually in line with food inflation.”
The party will further strengthen the national early childhood nutrition programme. “This will be a pillar of our universal roll-out of early childhood development programming, and will be modelled on the NSNP.”
Zibi said the party will enforce a programme to redistribute underused rural and peri-urban land to farmers who do not have land, or limited land to expand their land use and farm scale.
The politician said that the rookie opposition party is set on supporting community food gardens and incentivising self-sufficiency, by rendering tools and seeds for farming; and training local farming projects.
The initiative will support farmers and economise the agricultural sector. “We will revamp, strengthen and equip agricultural extension services to ensure that they continuously support subsistence farmers, including getting produce to markets.“
Furthermore, he mentioned RISE Mzansi plans to keep high protein foods affordable, deter food inflation and regulate the prices of an essential basket of food stuff. “This will ensure affordability to meet all people's basic nutritional needs. If nutritious food was affordable, increased consumption would boost agriculture, the economy; is crucial for child development and their cognitive development, and create jobs.”
The Star