Durban — The school governing body (SGB) of Ingaqa Full Service School in Mtubatuba north of KwaZulu-Natal has suspended fast food vendors after 43 pupils fell ill after eating chips and snacks.
The incident happened on Monday where pupils complained of unbearable stomach aches and were rushed to local clinics and a hospital.
SGB chairperson Albert Nkosi said he was notified by the school management about the incident, and convened an urgent SGB meeting which recommended the suspension of vendors from the school premises.
Nkosi said the vendors must stop selling until the investigation by authorities is completed which will determine the causes of the sickness of the kids. He said even if they come back, they will no longer be allowed to sell chips to kids.
“We said they must stop selling until we are sure what actually caused the sickness. And what those chips had.”
Weighing in on the matter, Inkosi Mtubatuba Local Municipality mayor Mxolisi Mthethwa said the municipality would dispatch officials to inspect all the shops to determine if they were selling good quality food.
The saga drew a lot of panic from concerned parents, which prompted the DA in the province to write to Education MEC, Sipho Hlomuka asking him to strengthen regulations around vendors selling any kind of food to school children.
The DA member of the provincial legislature and the party spokesperson on education matters, Sakhile Mngadi said the party was concerned about children’s safety, hence their letter to the MEC after learning about the incident.
Mngadi said the snacks were being sold from unregulated outlets and called for stricter regulations.
“This latest incident comes just a few days after five young children from Soweto died after consuming contaminated snacks. The DA urges parents to ensure that their children only purchase snacks from accredited outlets to ensure a further safety barrier against this growing concern. Government must act swiftly if more loss of life is to be prevented,” said Mngadi.
The party welcomed the recent developments from NATJOINTS - the national structure responsible for coordinating State Security – which was now treating these incidents as a potential threat to the country and its citizens.
However, the party said it was not enough for these horrendous incidents to be investigated in isolation. KZN’s Department of Education must ensure that policy meets action “by ensuring the safety of our learners through strict regulations around food sold to learners at schools.
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