RISE Mzansi has put forward proposals aimed at reducing hunger and food insecurity in the country.
The party said hunger was a serious problem. In order to highlight this, its members across the country were expected to spend this past weekend manning soup kitchens and taking part in clean-up campaigns.
Detailing the extent of the problem as it understands it, Rise Mzansi national leader Songezo Zibi said in a statement, one in four South Africans live on a spectrum of severe food vulnerability, half of all South Africans will be food-insecure by 2025.
“Rise Mzansi has a plan, and it starts with two things, repairing the broken food system: the way we grow food, find food and eat it, repairing the economy, so everyone has the income they need to buy the food they cannot grow,” he said in the statement.
Detailing the party’s plan, Zibi said, “From the moment we are elected, whether we occupy the opposition benches, or we are part of government, we will advance our plan to end hunger, which will require the following:
– New legislation will require farmers, food companies and retail outlets to separate unselected, unused, or unsold food of good quality before it deteriorates – and to redistribute it. This will be done either directly or via non-profit food distribution channels such as Food Forward and SA Harvest. This will take care of the millions of tonnes of edible food wasted at different points in the supply chain between food production and point of sale to consumers.
– Increase the child support grant immediately to R680, and over the next two years to R1 335
– 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 Mercury