Covid-19: Are we asking the right questions about… Food supplies and poverty alleviation in the former homelands?
- Food supplies and poverty alleviation in the former homeland regions have been very negatively impacted by the Covid-19 crisis. South Africans should be asking tough questions about how to ensure that supplies of food reach the neediest households.
- In most rural areas, about 50 per cent of people were unemployed prior to Covid-19, compared to 38 per cent nationally. These levels of joblessness are certain to have grown exponentially in the crisis.
- In finding workable solutions It appears unlikely that either local councils or traditional authorities will play a sufficiently effective role.
- Business, NGOs, and the government need to collaborate to create an overview of what is happening in these regions and to develop and pioneer innovative solutions which can operate at scale.
