President's food safety measures welcomed; execution questioned

Concerns have emerged over the proposed timelines and possible tensions that may arise due to interventions aimed at addressing food-borne illnesses and deaths in the country.

In his speech on Friday, President Cyril Ramaphosa said 22 children died of food-borne illnesses. He said investigations identified the chemicals Terbufos and Aldicarb as key culprits. These substances, used illegally as household pesticides in townships, were discovered on food products.

“Last month there was a major food-borne incident in Naledi in Soweto in which six children died. The youngest of these children was just six years old. Few words can adequately convey our sadness and our pain as a nation.”

Immediate measures to address this include shutting down non-compliant spaza shops, enforcing stricter inspections, regulating pesticide sales, and launching public education campaigns on food safety. The President also highlighted systemic issues like poor waste management and inadequate municipal oversight as contributors to the crisis.

Chairperson of the Select Committee on Education, Sciences, and Creative Industries, Makhi Feni, criticised the delayed response.

“The crisis did not have to get to the proportions it had reached. All that was needed was enforcement of the law.”

Feni highlighted the backlash that spaza shop owners, many of which are foreign nationals. He reiterated the president’s sentiment that shop owners did not deliberately target children.

“In some instances shops were looted and genuine community protests were hijacked by criminal elements… [These measures are] not punishment to foreign nationals, this is getting officials to do what they are paid daily to do.”

He say municipal officials should not become opportunistic and accept “drink money” or be bought from shop owners during this time.

“The task is to ensure that the death of children due to consuming snacks is stopped forever.”

The National Informal Traders Alliance’s Rosheda Muller, says municipalities may not have capacity to process an influx of spaza shop registrations. All spaza shops must be registered within 21 days of President Ramaphosa’s speech. Muller told the SABC that this may not be a realistic timeline for it be completed. She believes it could take up to a year.