Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi confirmed that Twenty-Three school children have died in Gauteng due to foodborne illnesses.
This was revealed by Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi during a media briefing in Joburg on Sunday, 10 November.
He was briefing the media on a meeting held with provincial and local government heads on implementing by-laws and regulations for the operation of spaza shops in Gauteng.
Lesufi said the province dealt with 441 cases and of this number, 23 pupils have died since January. These are pupils who consumed food purchased from school vendors and spaza shops in their kasi.
“Since January this year, a total number of food contamination incidences stands at 441 and 23 deaths. The majority of the cases involve children between the ages six and 10 years old. Ekurhuleni has reported the highest number of incidences followed by the West Rand.
“The majority of deaths were reported in Joburg followed by Ekurhuleni. Seven postmortem results out of the 19 deaths tested positive for organophosphate,” the premier said.
He said that a reporting template is being developed to be used by hospitals, schools and community healthcare centres to ensure there is accurate reporting in this regard.
Lesufi said in the meeting, they’ve all agreed that addressing these issues requires a comprehensive approach involving stricter regulations, better enforcement of existing laws and increased public awareness about the potential dangers associated with purchasing from unregulated spaza shops and informal traders.
He stated that all councils across municipalities will pass the new by-laws by the national Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, which will explain how to register a business and conduct business to ensure a uniform approach.
“We are going to start weekly stakeholder engagement and consultations. We are further starting the process of re-registration of spaza shops.”
“The MEC for Economic Development, Lebogang Maile and all MMCs will develop a template of reregistration of business, especially businesses that were involved in illness and deaths of our children,” he said.
Lesufi said that government is aware that the informal sector is a vital component of the economy as it affects people’s livelihoods, provides opportunities for many who would otherwise be marginalised and is essential for tackling the triple challenge of poverty, unemployment and inequality.
“It is, however, the responsibility of informal traders to trade in accordance with legal requirements and in a manner that promotes public health and safety,” he said.
He called on Gauteng residents not to buy foodstuffs that have reached the expiry, use or sell by dates.
The premier urged residents to take their time when buying groceries and check the dates.
“Please, call the emergency healthcare number on 012 345 6789 to report shops that sell expired goods,” said Lesufi.
