African Transformation Movement (ATM) leader, president Vuyo Zungula, has written to the ministers of Finance and Health, Enoch Godongwana and Dr Joe Phaahla, to get them to accelerate the employment of qualified environmental health practitioners to curb the spread of deadly counterfeit food products in the country.
Zungula wants the government to prioritise the employment of qualified environmental health officials to monitor local businesses, including spaza shops and other food-related industries due to the increasing number of children dying due to alleged food poisoning.
This comes as more and more incidents of children across the country falling ill have been reported to healthcare facilities after allegedly eating poisonous snacks.
According to news reports, in the latest incident, 84 children in the Eastern Cape were taken to hospitals in a space of one week after allegedly consuming snacks.
A further 63 learners were transported to hospital after they bought snacks, biscuits and juice from a local spaza shop near their schools.
Police and citizens have since been warned parents to stop buying from vendors and to make snacks for their their children.
It was reported that the children displayed symptoms associated with food poisoning after they were found vomiting.
In the letter dated, Friday November 3, Zungula urges the two ministers to prioritise the employment of environmental health officers to monitor local spaza shops across SA communities, especially in Gauteng.
“The counterfeit goods crisis in South Africa, particularly in Gauteng, has reached alarming proportions.
“The consumption of these sub-standard and often hazardous products has resulted in devastating consequences for our people. We cannot stress enough the urgency of addressing this issue decisively and promptly,” Zungula said.
His party was concerned by the lack of alignment and will by the government to employ thousands of unemployed environmental health practitioners, he said.
“ATM’s primary concern is the apparent misalignment between the government’s decision to employ temporary patrol agents for food quality monitoring and the existing pool of unemployed, qualified environmental health practitioners.
“These professionals are well-equipped to play a vital role in ensuring safety of our food supply and protecting our citizen from dangers associated with counterfeit goods. We strongly advocate for the immediate employment of environmental health practitioners to oversee food safety in various communities,” he said.
The Star