Officials inspecting spaza shops in Bengal rd, Laudium, ensuring that the shops follow the city’s by-laws. Picture: Jacques Naude/Independent Newspapers
THE government has been called out to establish strict measures to combat the prevalence of food poisoning and save lives.
The South African National Christian Forum (SANCF) has called for a state of emergency, while the General Industries Union of South Africa (Giwusa) demanded the establishment of local consumer councils.
Both SANCF and Giwusa have blamed the government for not doing enough to deal with this scourge.
SANCF also called on the government to close all spaza shops and allow the owners to reapply for their licences.
The forum said there must be structure so the spaza shop owners reapply under strict scrutiny.
The forum believes this would also help in dealing with undocumented foreign spaza shop owners.
This comes amid increasing cases of suspected food poisoning among school learners.
Six children from Soweto under the age of ten died after consuming snacks bought from a local spaza shop last month.
Over 70 Grade 12 female learners from various schools in the West Rand were admitted to hospitals following a suspected food poisoning incident.
Two siblings recently died while 25 pupils were treated at a healthcare facility after ingesting suspected contaminated snacks bought from a local spaza shop in Katlehong, Ekurhuleni.
Seven children were also hospitalised in Kwazulu-Natal after falling ill from food they allegedly bought from the spaza shop in the area.
Another young life was lost on November 3, 2024; 10-year-old Lesedi Maaboi from Alexandra died due to suspected food poisoning. Her mother and 4-year-old brother were also hospitalised in critical condition due to the same incident.
In a statement of the toxicology report, Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi said their report “unequivocally” showed the six children in Soweto died as a result of terbofus ingestion, a chemical used in agricultural pesticides, herbicides, and insecticides.
“Those affected have concluded that these ailments are a result of food poisoning emanating from food stuff, particularly snacks, sold by foreign-owned spaza shops,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Gauteng provincial government has urged the public to only use pesticides that are registered for control of rats and cockroaches, as illegal use of highly hazardous pesticides is a health risk.
The provincial government said the law prohibits anyone in possession of banned pesticides such as aldicarb (known as ha le phirime) and Terbufos.
“The government has imposed restrictions on access and use of Terbufos except by registered, professionally trained applicants.”
These incidents recently sparked violence directed at foreign spaza shop owners, who have been blamed for the loss of lives.
Armed mobs have in recent weeks looted foreign spaza owners, mostly run by Somalis whom they accuse of selling products responsible for the deaths, forcing the closure of many shops
SANCF president Bishop Marothi Mashashane said a state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens.
“A government can declare such a state before, during, or after a natural disaster, civil unrest, armed conflict, medical pandemic or epidemic or other biosecurity risk. This will also help in dealing with the undocumented spaza owners,” said Mashashane.
“Unfortunately, our government is not proactive enough to anything; they like appearing on cameras after tragedy. SANCF has been repeatedly calling for regulation of all sectors, including spaza shops, religious and financial institutions, but our call falls on deaf ears,” Mashashane added.
Marothi also said the forum was deeply concerned about the quietness of the presidency regarding the problem. He said he was also preparing court papers to force President Cyril Ramaphosa to close spaza shops and save children’s lives.
These sentiments were echoed by Giwusa, who added that this exposed the government’s incapacity to deal with the problem.
The union’s president, Mametlwe Sebei, said these cases should be a wake-up call loud enough for the government to mobilise resources (Human and equipment) at the inspectorate and law enforcement to tackle these deaths in a packet problem before it gets bigger than this. Sebei said a failure to do that would most likely see an even intensified unrest as people stand for themselves and attack these shops which sell these unsafe food items and even the factories.
Sebei added that some of these shops have been reported to be stocking and selling food from unsafe basements, backrooms, and shack factories. Consequently, the poor people pay with their health and, in some instances, their lives.
“This is as people desperately try to mitigate the chronic and widespread lack of access to healthy and nutritious food. More than three million people in South Africa do not have access to adequate food and water,” Sebei said.
He said these hospitalisations and passings further exposed the cruelty of capitalism, where profit is prioritised over people’s needs, and human life, especially black lives, are in danger due to the poverty striking black communities.
“Community-based organisations should see to it that they establish local consumer councils that exercise oversight of government inspection, enforcement, and compliance. These councils would monitor and report obvious cases of health hazards.”
The chairperson of the oversight committee on the Premier’s office and the legislature (OCPOL) in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature, Ntombi Mkgwe, also called for stricter legislation and more rigorous enforcement to address the issue.
“We cannot continue to witness our children suffer and die from preventable causes such as food poisoning. Stronger legal measures must be enacted to regulate food sales, especially by vendors operating unlawfully, and to hold accountable those endangering the lives of our youth,” she said.
Meanwhile, the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) on Friday announced that it had instructed all schools in the province to suspend the sale of food within and around school premises until further notice.
The department said this decision was informed by the recent and alarming increase in incidents of foodborne illness affecting learners across various schools in the province.
manyane.manyane@inl.co.za
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