The Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA), Velenkosini Hlabisa, has urged communities to be vigilant and proactive in protecting the health and well-being of children.
The minister was speaking at the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in Soweto, Johannesburg, where he was visiting an eight-year-old boy. It was reported that the boy was hospitalised after he fell ill after consuming contaminated snacks purchased from a spaza shop in Mapetla, Soweto.
Incident happened over the weekend
According to reports, the eight-year-old boy was taken to a nearby clinic after complaining of persistent pain.
After his condition deteriorated, he was transferred to the hospital over the weekend.
“Government plays a crucial role, but we also urge communities to take shared responsibility,” Hlabisa said on Friday.
He urged communities to protect all children and work together with government to create safer and healthier environments.
In November 2024, President Cyril Ramaphosa issued a directive requiring all spaza shops and food-handling facilities to register with their respective municipalities.
Nearly 30 deaths from snacks poisoning
This action was prompted by incidents involving foodborne illnesses that resulted in over 890 cases and nearly 30 deaths since September 2024.
In October last year, six primary school children from Naledi, Soweto, died after allegedly eating snacks from a foreign-owned local spaza shop.
Some of the children were confirmed to have died of poisoning linked to the agricultural pesticide terbufos.
According to CoGTA, spaza shops are crucial in local communities. They often serve as the primary source of essential goods in underserved areas.
“We are here on humanitarian grounds to stand in solidarity with this young boy and his family during this difficult time,” said Hlabisa.
“It was our sincere hope that such incidents of poisoning would never happen again.”
The Minister believes that tragedies of this nature demand a united front and reaffirmed government’s commitment to working collaboratively to protect vulnerable communities.
Spaza shops still key economic zones
“We are here in the spirit of the District Development Model because incidents like these require the combined efforts of all of government and all of society,” he said.
The District Development Model aims to improve the coherence and impact of government service delivery with focus on 44 Districts and 8 Metros around the country. They are development spaces that can be used as centres of service delivery and economic development, including job creation.
- SAnews.gov.za
