Knysna Fire Relief: Minister to check in on Department relief efforts

The Western Cape Social Development Minister, Albert Fritz, will be arriving in fire devastated Knysna today to check on the progress of Departmental officials rendering services to people affected and displaced by the fire.

The Department has teams of social workers rendering trauma counselling to residents who’ve been affected by the disaster. Our Social Relief of Distress (SRD) officials are assisting with disaster management and relief efforts, with a particular focus on the poor and vulnerable.

Social workers from the SRD programme identify and assess residents who may be eligible for social relief and in need of distress grants. The names of potential recipients are then given to the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA), which is responsible for disbursing the grants.

SRD grants are a temporary relief measure that is issued monthly for a duration of 3 months. An extension of a further 3 months may be granted in exceptional cases.

Minister Fritz will meet with all social work teams, and conduct visits to facilities in the area which may have been affected by the fire, such as early childhood development centres (crèches) and residential facilities for older persons (old age homes).

As this disaster continues to affect the lives of residents in Knysna, I call on people to continue giving their time and donations to the relief efforts. The public can contribute to the Knysna Municipality’s official Knysna Disaster Relief Fund:

Nedbank

Account Name: Emergency Fund

Account number: 1147920699

Reference: Knysnafire

International donations: NEDSZAJJ