President Cyril Ramaphosa has addressed the tragic deaths of children due to food poisoning, assuring the public that this issue is being addressed at the highest levels of government.
Speaking at the District Development Model (DDM) Presidential Imbizo at Umnini Sportfield in Umgababa, KwaZulu-Natal, the President led attendees in a moment of silence for the young lives lost in recent weeks.
In his address on Friday, President Ramaphosa highlighted government's serious approach to the matter.
This wave of tragic incidents has left communities devastated.
The President expressed his heartfelt condolences to the families, recognising the profound grief of losing a child. He said government would take immediate action to prevent further loss of life.
“We have in the last few weeks lost a number of school children, who have died as a result of some chemical that has been found in the food or snacks that they have been eating and buying from Spaza shops.
“This matter is being addressed at the highest level. It’s been raised by a number of parents and our people, and I fully understand the concern. We join these families who have lost their children. It is very painful for a parent to lose a child... We pass our condolences to them," the President said.
He said he will fully address these matters to provide a clear direction and ensure that no further children die needlessly.
“All these matters are going to be fully addressed this coming week, and I will be able to then make a statement on how we are going to deal with this matter to enable us to ensure that no further children die needlessly in our country.
“So, this matter is being handled at the highest level, and we’ve got our various departments and agencies working around the clock. I’ve directed that I should get reports as soon as possible so that we can take action to prevent further deaths of the young people of our country,” the President said.
The President urged parents to remain vigilant, encouraging them to ensure their children consume food only from trusted and safe sources.
“I will say to us as parents, let us take care and ensure that our children only get food from places that we regard as safe places, but we will be coming out with a clear directive and direction on this matter,” the President said.
The President said that police have already made arrests in connection with the storage of hazardous chemicals on premises selling food, and new regulations governing the licensing of spaza shops are being enforced.
“We are also looking at the matter form an agricultural point of view. I have directed [Agriculture] Minister Steenhuisen to do proper research with regards to these chemicals. The Minister of Police is also seized with this matter, and we are working around the clock to enable us to look very closely at the incidents that have been happening.
The Minister of Health, the President said, is also seized with this matter and has requested a number of agencies to do testing of the various chemicals from a health point of view. – SAnews.gov.za
