The Executive Mayor, Cllr Kgosientso Ramokgopa, was joined on stage by some of the beneficiaries who had received food parcels at the Saulsville Arena on 27 January 2012. Two thousand food parcels were distributed to residents registered on the City's indigent programme. The City had also made 30 buses available to pick up these residents in the seven regions of Tshwane.

The event demonstrated the Executive Mayor’s support of President Jacob Zuma who had said in his keynote address at the Centenary celebrations that South Africans should not be failed when it came to the elimination of poverty. 

The City of Tshwane’s indigent programme offers financial relief by scrapping the arrears of identified indigent families who are unable to pay for municipal services. The City also offers indigent families continued access to free basic services, which include 12 kℓ water and 100 kW.h electricity. While offering relief for these households it is done with a belief that all affected communities should be assisted to acquire skills so as to, eventually, exit the indigent programme.

To this effect, essential skills development initiatives have been commenced in communities, in partnership with key role players such as various SETAs, and in line with the sector skills plans. To date, 51 285 indigent households have been registered and 17 100 new ones have been verified.

The indigent programme of the City is a flagship programme and City of Tshwane employees will be given the opportunity to contribute by donating time or money to this good cause.