By Amy Musgrave
President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced a number of measures to deal with the food contamination crisis in the country that has claimed the lives of 22 children in the last few weeks.
While spaza shops owned by foreign nationals have been blamed for being behind the deaths and 890 reported incidents of food-borne illnesses across the country since September, the president has warned against misinformation.
“The investigations that have taken place do not suggest any deliberate campaign to poison children in our country. There is also no evidence that the problem is confined to spaza shops owned by foreign nationals only,” he said while briefing the nation.
“These products are just as likely to be sold in shops owned by South Africans.”
Ramaphosa said that the Cabinet has met on three occasions to receive reports from multi-disciplinary teams.
They include SAPS detectives, health officials, environmental inspectors, and officials from the agriculture department and the National Consumer Commission.
The executive has agreed on three interventions.
The first one is to get hazardous pesticides off the street which have been linked to some of the deaths of children who bought food from spaza shops, the second is to protect children from exposure to these substances, and the third is to prevent future outbreaks.
Ramaphosa confirmed that following tests from the National Institute for Communicable Diseases, the deaths of six children in Naledi in Soweto were directly attributed to Terbufos, a highly hazardous chemical used as a pesticide.
It is registered in South Africa for agricultural use and may not be sold for general household use. However, Terbufos is being informally sold as a “street pesticide” for domestic use in townships and informal settlements to control rats.
He said of as part of the investigation into the Naledi deaths, inspectors found that at some shops, food was being stored next to pesticides and detergents.
“Even as our investigations are ongoing, it is critical to understand that this is not a problem confined to spaza shops and other informal traders. The unregulated use of restricted pesticides in communities has become a growing problem, with devastating consequences.”
Another chemical, Aldicarb, and an organophosphate known as Galephirimi were being sold by street vendors and hawkers to control rat infestations.
Aldicarb has been banned for use in South Africa since 2016.
He said the problem of rat infestation was due in part to poor waste management in several municipalities. Rubbish was not collected regularly, and streets were not being cleaned, which created conditions for rats and other pests to thrive.
“Often, the poorest communities are the worst affected, and often the cheapest remedies that are used are these highly hazardous substances like Terbufos and Aldicarb,” the president said.
Spaza shops would be closed with immediate effect. All spaza shops and other food handling facilities would have to register within the municipalities they operated within 21 days from Friday.
He said any shop that was not registered within 21 days and did not meet all health standards and requirements would be shut down.
Integrated multidisciplinary inspection teams would undertake compliance inspections of food handling facilities, manufacturers, distributors, wholesaler and retailers. The initial phase of inspections would need be completed within a month.
Also, non-compliant businesses and shops linked to any poisoning incidents or found to unlawfully stock hazardous chemicals would be shut down.
A massive campaign of door-to-door inspections of all spaza shops, tuck shops and other informal traders would start in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, which have reported the most cases of foodborne illnesses.
The president said all registered manufacturers of Terbufos would be inspected to ensure that no products were diverted into the non-agricultural market.
On protecting children, the Basic Education Department would immediately issue a circular to provincial education departments and all schools on best practice protocols for preventing and managing foodborne illnesses within schools.
Ramaphosa said that to prevent future outbreaks, he has directed that Joint Operational and Intelligence Structures be established at a national and provincial level to deal with this crisis.
“Our local municipalities will be required to take urgent action to address the problem of rat infestations by cleaning cities and towns and removing waste.
“All municipal landfill sites will be required to comply with National Environmental Management Waste Act. Failure to comply will result in strict sanctions that include directives, compliance notices and criminal enforcement,” he told the nation.
Also, a ministerial health advisory committee was being established to develop medium- and long-term prevention measures.
The Agriculture Department was in the process of reviewing and updating all relevant legislation with respect to the regulation and authorisation of agricultural pesticides for use in South Africa.
Ramaphosa announced that a joint fund of R500 million would be established by the departments of Trade, Industry and Competition and Small Business Development to support township and rural businesses, including community convenience shops.
The funding would be for the refurbishment of businesses and non-financial support in terms of technical skills, regulatory compliance and capacity building.
This is in line with Standard Draft By-Law for Township Economies in the Local Government: Municipal Systems Act that was gazetted by Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa earlier this month.
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