Only 36 % of those who qualify for free basic services (FBS) in Limpopo are making use of these services.

This was revealed by Ms Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, MEC for Local Government and Housing, when she launched the 2006/07 free basic services campaign in the Vhembe and Sekhukhune districts at two functions on Thursday 27 July 006.

“The programme of free basic services is intended, like the social grant system, to provide a safety net for the most vulnerable families in the Limpopo province. It is a sign that this government is a government of the people by the people. By April this year, we had extended this safety net to more than 167 000 households in Limpopo who qualified. The services are made available to South African families which have a monthly household income of around R1 100. However, the collection rate by beneficiaries has been very disappointing as only 36% of those who qualify are making use of these services,” said Nkoana-Mashabane.

According to her, in the Mutale municipality area, there are 197 households who have been identified to benefit. Nonetheless, the collection of the FBS tokens remains low – even in a municipality with so few beneficiaries. She said it is therefore “highly necessary that all stakeholders work hand-in-hand to encourage qualifying households to make use of this system”.

According to her, they were informed that there are many challenges which have led to this low collection rate of FBS tokens. One of these is that beneficiaries are often unaware of this benefit.

“This vacuum in information about these services has forced many of those families who qualify to lose out on a service that could be making a real difference in their lives. As a department, we have committed ourselves to working with the ward committees, the councillors, the community development workers, the municipalities, Eskom and others in ensuring that information about the FBS is made more widely-available. We are even going as far as saying that there should be communication in the vernacular languages so that the poorest of the poor – who are usually not literate – can understand where and how to get these services. We also believe that our friends in the media could help us a lot in this regard – especially our community radio stations and newspapers. We are thus urging all municipalities to develop stronger relations with these grassroots media in order to promote the collection of these FBS tokens,” said Nkoana-Mashabane.

Another problem is that the vending points are not easily accessible. She said the department has spoken to Eskom on the matter and indicated areas where additional vending stations are required.

“This will, we believe, assist in improving the collection of tokens,” said Nkoana-Mashabane.