Mr Speaker, as I indicated in my earlier reply to hon Kganare, the Department of Social Development and its agencies work closely with various partners to identify poverty-stricken communities throughout the country, with a view to address the immediate needs, whilst putting in place interventions that will assist such communities in the long term. I have raised the issue of the General Household Survey and, in that survey, the Tlokwe Local Municipality was identified as one of the areas where severe cases of malnutrition in children below the age of five years were reported.
Hon Speaker, it is a common fact that since 1994 the ANC-led government has been waging an unwavering war on poverty on all fronts. This is part of our government's determination to dismantle the legacy of apartheid by rallying and mobilising communities to tackle the triple challenges of unemployment, poverty and inequality.
In October 2011, the Department of Social Development launched the Food for All campaign as a response to the alarming levels of poverty, in particular malnutrition amongst children. This followed reports on the death of children in Verdwaal in the North West province due to malnutrition. The initial intervention of this campaign commenced in Limpopo province and is still going on.
The campaign seeks to ensure food security for vulnerable households for a period of six months, while other developmental initiatives are pursued. These include the establishment of household food gardens; attendance by the preschool children in early childhood development centres; and ensuring that vulnerable families who qualify are supported through social assistance.
The insinuation by the official opposition that the provision of Social Relief of Distress is meant to entice voters in Tlokwe is nothing but shameless political opportunism and cheap political grandstanding at its best. Is the hon member suggesting that government should stop assisting people in need just because there are by-elections?
The DA is desperately trying to derail the work of our government by completely misrepresenting the truth by using the Social Relief of Distress, SRD, for political gain without any factual basis for it. This is not only false, but offensive to the poor as it suggests that people ... Thank you, Mr Speaker. [Time expired.] [Applause.]