SARS Donates Millions of Seized Items to KZN Flood Victims, Citizens Welcome Humanitarian Effort

• The South African Revenue Service (SARS) is donating millions of seized items to those affected by the KwaZulu-Natal floods
• The project’s first phase began in June and saw the distribution of 28000 blankets being donated to those living in community halls
• The second phase involves donations of footwear and clothing that are individually wrapped and will be donated to specific shelters

DURBAN - The South African Revenue Service (SARS) is undertaking a humanitarian effort to assist those displaced by the floods that ravaged parts of KwaZulu-Natal in April. Items seized by the service will be donated through the Project Sizani (We all Help) initiative.

Millions of items that were seized since 2018 will be donated. The project’s first phase began in June and saw the distribution of 28000 blankets being donated to those living in community halls.

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Patrick Moeng of SARS told TimesLIVE that the project is aimed at minimising the material impact on the affected people and restoring dignity to those in need. He said the project is driven by humanity.

The second phase involves donations of footwear and clothing that are individually wrapped and will be donated to specific shelters. The donations are currently underway at shelters based in Inanda and La Mercy.

SARS is working in conjunction with the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition and business and labour. More than 25 000 items have been donated to 31 of 74 sites.

According to IOL, Project Sizani is expected to conclude at the month's end. The North West and Eastern Cape are following in the footsteps of KZN.

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Citizens welcome distribution:

@IanKeane3 said:

“Good on them, they should sell the assets taken from criminals and do the same.”

@KatlegoKaG commented:

“Good move. Take from the criminals and give to the poor.”

@SibsDJ posted:

“Can they do the same with houses, furniture and cars taken from people too?”

@passenger747 wrote:

“Finally, someone woke up.”

@FmOchieng added:

“That is called humanity!”

KZN floods: Premier Sihle Zikalala says more than R17 billion is need to recover from April and May disasters

In a related matter, Briefly News also reported the KwaZulu-Natal government has submitted an application to the National Disaster Management Centre for at least R17.8 billion in flood relief funds.

The application comes after parts of the province were ravaged by torrential rains that resulted in floods that destroyed public infrastructure and homes and caused the loss of many lives.

Speaking to the media over the weekend, KZN Premier Sihle Zikalala stated that rebuilding the damage caused by the April and May floods cost close to R25 billion, reports SABC News.

Source: Briefly News