Gauteng residents are reacting to the GDE’s order to suspend the sale of food in schools

JOHANNESBURG – Some Gauteng residents believe the removal of food vendors from schools will have a devastating impact on small businesses.

This is to the Gauteng Education Department schools ordered to suspend food sales as the number of food contamination cases increases.

The department says this is part of measures to curb the cases of concern.

Since October, more than ten children have died in the province as a result of suspected food contamination.

READ: Lesufi joins calls for regulation of spaza shops in Gauteng

This includes six children from Naledi in Soweto who consumed a limited pesticide found in snacks they bought from a local spaza shop.

While residents want the matter to be addressed urgently, some believe food vendors are being unfairly punished.

“The bigger elephant in the room is still the spaza shops and the manufacturers of these snacks – they shouldn’t tell our mothers and sisters they can’t sell in the schools,” said one resident.

“The Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Education and related departments are the enemies. They should have addressed this a long time ago – now they are just being reactive,” said another resident.

“You are punishing our children because our children are used to having money when they go to school. You created the problem, now you are making your problem ours because you did not regulate the spaza shops.”