GARDEN ROUTE NEWS - The Garden Route District Municipality (GRDM) has terminated its agreement with the Garden Route Food Pantry four months earlier than the initially agreed termination date that was set for 30 October 2023.

This was confirmed by GRDM communications manager Herman Pieters yesterday morning, Friday 27 October, in response to an inquiry made by George Herald after Carl van Blerk, founder and manager of the Food Pantry, earlier this week said that the food pantry faces a legal battle with the GRDM.

Breach of contract
Pieters said the GRDM’s decision to end the contract early was based on the failure of the Food Pantry to provide the GRDM with audited financial statements (AFS) within 30 days after receiving them from their accountants, as required in the signed service level agreement between GRDM and the Food Pantry.

“Various requests to obtain this were made to the NPC (non-profit company) over the last two and a half years and on 3 August this year the NPC was formally requested to provide this outstanding documentation before 11 August, as they were in breach of our contract. When still not complying with our formal notification, the matter was handed to council lawyers to start with legal action against this NPC for being in breach of our contract.”

Court of public opinion
Van Blerk expressed his astonishment at the municipality's decision, stating, "It is absolutely incomprehensible for a municipality to sue an NGO with a track record of having fed over three million people in the last three years. They may take us to court, but we will not stay quiet and will fight them in the court of public opinion. At a time of an international food crisis, government should be seeking to take hands, so this action is simply on another level."

‘Unforeseeable delay’
When Van Blerk earlier informed George Herald of the impending legal battle, he however said the agreement had been honoured, but that a delay was caused due to a hiccup with SARS.

“The organisation, in agreement with the GRDM, diligently provided [the required] reports quarterly instead so as to coincide with council meetings where they were presented. The Food Pantry also maintained detailed records of every donation, whether in food or financial form, to various institutions and feeding centres.”

He said that all financial records of the Food Pantry were independently compiled by Cilliers Accountants. “The audited financials are temporarily delayed due to a complication with the South African Revenue Service (SARS) resulting from an incorrect filing procedure in 2021 and necessitating a withdrawal and resubmission.”

He stated that he has kept the GRDM updated on the progress, but despite the unforeseeable delay, the GRDM ceased all funding to the Food Pantry in early 2023 and has now initiated a lawsuit against the Food Pantry, seeking the repayment of R261 360, representing all the funds paid in the last financial year by the GRDM.

Local municipalities’ withdrawal
Pieters said that the municipalities of Hessequa, Kannaland, Knysna, and Bitou have opted to support their own soup kitchens and local non-government organisations (NGOs) because they felt their communities would be better served by organisations based in the respective towns. The main storage facility for the Food Pantry is in George and at the time of entering into the agreement with the Garden Route Food Pantry, the municipalities indicated that they had experienced challenges regarding distribution of foodstuffs to outlying areas.

Van Blerk, in his earlier communication, had also mentioned that the local municipalities had opted out of the agreement. “Initially, four municipalities - Hessequa, Kannaland, Knysna, and Bitou - had committed to contribute to the initiative. However, these four municipalities subsequently withdrew their support, reducing the agreed monthly donations. Oudtshoorn Municipality also opted out, citing the need for the Food Pantry to provide a vehicle to them, which [Van Blerk] refused to do.”

Accountability
According to Pieters, the GRDM has to date provided funding of R1 355 945 to the Food Pantry. GRDM contributed 80% of the required contributions by smaller local municipalities, while George and Mossel Bay Municipalities carried their own costs. The total monthly requirement to be paid by municipalities the GRDM supported amounted to R5 445.

“Accountability is important to the GRDM and when a service provider is appointed, the company must comply with the contractual agreements,” Pieters said. “Reporting and auditing provide transparency into how funds are spent and whether services are delivered as promised. The GRDM struggled for two years to access the audited AFS from the NPC, which is the main reason why the GRDM resolved to terminate the current MOU four months earlier than the initially agreed termination date.”

He said the GRDM was also shocked to see in the unaudited AFS that for the period March 2020 to February 2023, the Food Pantry used a total of R1 513 469 to pay salaries and that far more could have been spent to help feed vulnerable communities.

Food Pantry ‘pivotal’
According to Van Blerk, the Garden Route Food Pantry has played a pivotal role in alleviating food insecurity in the Garden Route region. It was his vision and long-standing dream to establish an NGO food bank. “When the Covid-19 pandemic struck the region, the Eden and George Lions Club, with [Van Blerk] as the founder of the Eden Lions Club, spearheaded food relief efforts from the George Lions Clubhouse on York Street,” he said.

He approached the GRDM with a proposal to establish a permanent food bank facility for the region. “There was overwhelming support for the idea, and the GRDM provisionally approved Van Blerk to establish and run the facility, with financial and other support from the region's municipalities, managed by the GRDM.

Uncertain fate
Van Blerk called the lawsuit “a surprising turn of events…. that threatens the very existence of the organisation”.

“The lawsuit has the potential to jeopardise the Food Pantry's continued operation, which would have significant ramifications for the local community it serves,” he said. He emphasised that the Food Pantry has met all its obligations and gone above and beyond expectations and firmly asserted that the organisation would not refund the money demanded by the GRDM, as it was used for the purposes identified, primarily covering the rental costs for the facility used in its charitable work and that all obligations have been met to date.

Other NPOs 
According to Pieters, the GRDM has already entered into discussions with other NPOs and NPCs. One of these is the Gift of the Givers “who indicated that they are more than willing to ensure sustainable support to the most vulnerable in the district”.

He said the GRDM has issued a letter of demand for the audited financial statements and a report will serve at the next GRDM council meeting to outline the steps that will follow.

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