In the face of rising exasperation at the continued threat posed by contaminated food eaten by schoolchildren, ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula has called for spaza shops to be closed and reregistered in order for them to be more effectively regulated for public safety.
The ANC’s call may very well find resonance with sections of the population most affected by a problem that has spread to many parts of the country, claiming the lives of children and landing many in hospital. Some may even feel that, finally, after several months of indifference, the country’s leaders have begun to appreciate the seriousness of the threat faced by so many of our young.
But others, such as former public protector Thuli Madonsela, have pointed at the possible unintended consequences of arbitrarily closing down spaza shops selling food in the affected communities, including the harm it could cause the businesses and the exacerbation of poverty.
This is not the time to promote simplistic, populist solutions or an approach that will turn out to be a blunt instrument
There can be no doubt the crisis has gone on for too long without the authorities getting to the bottom of it, leaving parents and communities in a state of fear, with some parents demanding the closure of the school feeding scheme pending the assurance that meals dispensed to children are safe.
Discounting the solution proposed by Mbalula, and the caution expressed by others like Madonsela, it is clear that decisive and lasting intervention is required from the authorities. Also that effective regulation, which is the duty of the state, is needed to protect the public from food-borne illnesses and even death.
Equally importantly, this is not the time to promote simplistic, populist solutions or an approach that will turn out to be a blunt instrument.
Effective regulation, including the registration and regular inspection of entities selling food, is urgent and necessary. But we should avoid throwing the baby out with the bath water through the indiscriminate closure of small businesses or halting the school feeding scheme, which in the case of thousands of children makes the difference between providing nourishment and starvation.
In the face of the real and present threat to our children, the authorities must move with greater speed to identify and eradicate the source of the problem.
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