Social Development Department denied to have issued Malawian Shepherd Bushiri a permit to come to Mpumalanga and distribute food parcels on 30 April.
Mpumalanga media circles were recently abuzz with allegations that Social Development MEC, Thandi Shongwe, was using the plight of people during the Covid-19 pandemic to market her church and Bushiri. On 7 May, the African National Congress’s ally, the South African Communist Party, issued the statement calling for transparency in donations and distribution of food parcels in the province.
“We are aware that there are many churches and business people who have made even more significant donations, but they did not receive the same treatment from MEC for Social Development, Thandi Shongwe. According to the information at our disposal, Bushiri only donated 35 food parcels to the department,” the SACP statement said.
And this is happening at the time when Mpumalanga MEC for Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA), Mandla Msibi, warned that no politicians were allowed to distribute food parcels and issue permits.
Responding on the allegations, Social Development spokesperson, Comfort Ngobe, said MEC Thandi Shongwe didn’t issue permit to Shepherd Bushiri but had acknowledged Bushiri’s request to assist the needy. “That MEC issued a permit for him to come to Mpumalanga is sensational,” Ngobe said.
“What the department did was to acknowledge his request to donate the food parcels to our regional office in Witbank and that is not a permit. For us it’s not about the person but the food parcels. We are welcoming any donation from any donor, not just Bushiri alone,” Ngobe added. Ngobe further said that MEC Shongwe does not have the power to issue permits for persons to travel from one province to another.
Hawks spokesperson, Hangwani Mulaudzi, said Bushiri’s lawyer had approached them about going to Mpumalanga to help the poor and they denied him a permit. “His lawyers called to say they would be travelling to Mpumalanga to give assistance to the poor. We gave them advice that because of the COVID19 and lockdown regulations, no one is allowed to go to any district or province. All of us must observe the law, irrespective of who we are,” Mulaudzi said.
The SACP has since called on provincial Command Council to investigate if the name of the Department of Social Development has not been used to get the food parcels and other donations that found their way to ANC regional leader, Ngrayi Ngwenya, who has also become a self-appointed spokesperson of Bushiri in the province, and has been using the plight of the poor to self-promote.
The SACP added that the provincial Command Centre should take charge of the distribution of food parcels because the MEC Shongwe has demonstrated that she is incapable of performing her duty with integrity, but has seen this as an opportunity for self-promotion and of the promotion of her church.
“We also urge and warn stakeholders to desist from issuing donations to individual politicians. Instead they should do so through the recognised structures, such as the provincial command centre for proper processing and accountability and to prevent the duplication of the distribution of food parcels for the benefit of all,” SACP District Secretary, Bobert Nkosi said.
The SACP further said that it has become a norm for some politicians to channel community benefits to their respective areas where they live. “It has become an established custom that Thandi Shongwe only serves the Nkomazi community because she hails from that area and that Deputy Speaker, Vusi Mkhatshwa, serves the people of Barberton because he is from that town,” the statement said.
Deputy Speaker Mkhatshwa was recently caught on camera unloading food parcels at his home in Barberton. The clip is currently circulating on social media.
