KwaZulu-Natal Premier Thami Ntuli KwaZulu-Natal Premier Thami Ntuli at his offices in Durban. Picture Supplied.
In response to recent incidents of children falling ill and some dying allegedly due to food poisoning, the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Executive Council has called for a special meeting with local municipalities on Friday.
Premier Thami Ntuli said the purpose of the meeting is to develop a comprehensive strategy to ensure that spaza shops in the province comply with national laws and regulations.
Last month, three children from the Cabhane village in uMzumbe on the KZN South Coast, aged two, six, and 11, died after experiencing symptoms associated with food poisoning, and their grandmother was hospitalised.
This comes after a spate of food poisoning cases across the country resulted in several deaths and hospitalisations.
The premier said Friday’s meeting will explore what strategy can be used to address spaza shops compliance with the country’s laws.
He said municipalities have environmental health practitioners who are tasked with the responsibility of visiting shops to check for illicit or expired goods to ensure that products being sold are compliant.
He added that the discussions will seek to enhance such operations, which is a multi-sector approach where both the police and other departments, such as Home Affairs, the Department of Social Development, and Agriculture, collaborate in conducting the operations.
“The first expectation we have is for a plan to be developed by each and every district municipality in their area so that the whole of KwaZulu-Natal will experience a movement of leaders seeking to address this issue of first – the undocumented foreign nationals who are illegally operating spaza shops in our province and secondly the issue of the illicit and expired products,” said Ntuli.
Ntuli said the message is clear –the government will not tolerate illegal operations and spaza shops that jeopardise lives.
“Working together with SAPS Provincial Police Commissioner Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi and the Border Management Agency, the provincial government will continue to conduct unannounced operations against illegal foreigners operating spaza shops to check the quality of the goods they sell,” he said.
Ntuli said the national Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa has gazetted by-laws to regulate the operation of spaza shops and municipalities are expected to adopt those by-laws.
“We will further engage municipalities to collaborate with the KwaZulu-Natal government in an effort to return spaza shops owned by undocumented foreign nationals to the people of KwaZulu-Natal and engage on ways to support local spaza shops owned by our citizens,” he said.
The premier said that the meeting will also address food vendors at schools and the way forward to ensure the safety of children.
He added that the provincial government was mindful that some operating spaza shops were living in poor, rural areas.
“It is important then that we take an approach that will not seek to destroy the little opportunity they have to bring food to the table for their families.
“But at the same time, we must assist them in sourcing their products from the right places and even support them financially where necessary,” he said.
With regard to the Cabhane incident, Ntuli said the post-mortem results would confirm the actual cause of death of the three children.
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