KZN Premier Thamsanqa Ntuli. | KZN Government.
Durban — As President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to address the nation amid the spate of “food poisoning”, KwaZulu-Natal Premier Thami Ntuli is cracking down on supermarkets and tuckshops owned by illegal foreigners to curb the spate.
Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni said on Wednesday following a Cabinet meeting that Ramaphosa would address the nation this week after more than 20 people, including children, have died from suspected food poisoning or contamination with harmful substances.
This is as incidents of alleged food poisoning rocked many provinces, including KZN and Gauteng.
To curb the spate, Ntuli and his Provincial Executive Council are convening a meeting with the KZN municipalities on Friday (today) at the Mayville Public Works offices.
During a press briefing in Durban on Thursday, Ntuli said that three children aged two, six and 11 died in uMzumbe allegedly from food poisoning.
“We were saddened to receive a report concerning an unfortunate incident involving suspected food poisoning in the Cambana area in uMzumbe under the Ugu District, where three children died and their grandmother was hospitalised,” said Ntuli.
“Even though post-mortem results are yet to confirm the cause of death, it is alleged that the victims fell ill and passed away because of food poisoning. It is reported that even the family dog had eaten the same food and died.”
The family had been living by collecting waste for recycling, he said.
“As the Provincial Executive Council, we have convened municipalities to a special meeting to engage on the strategy we can use to address spaza shops compliance with the laws of our country,” said Ntuli.
Drawing the line in the sand, he said: “Our message is clear. We will not allow illegal operations and spaza shops to jeopardise the lives of the people of KZN.”
He will be joining forces with the SAPS Provincial Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi and the Border Management Agency to assess the quality of the goods in spaza shops owned by foreign nationals.
To further enforce the regulation, Velenkosini Hlabisa, Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta), announced the gazetting of by-laws to govern the operation of spaza shops.
They are intended to empower local authorities in ensuring compliance and to support the transition of ownership back to local residents, a goal for Ntuli since he assumed the role of premier in June.
“We will engage municipalities to collaborate with the KwaZulu Natal government to get back spaza shops owned by undocumented foreign nationals to the people of KwaZulu Natal,” said Ntuli.
Amid the turmoil, investment prospects in KZN were promising after the recent Investment Conference in Durban yielded R85.5 billion, and discussions are underway to unlock an additional R65bn, said Ntuli.
The success of these investments could play a crucial role in alleviating the province’s economic distress, stated Ntuli.
He added that this investment would help to cut the unemployment figure in the province, which stood at 33%, according to the StatsSA Quarterly Labour Force Survey released on Wednesday.
Last month, the KZN Department of Education launched a probe after 43 pupils at Ngaqa Primary School took ill after eating snacks bought from a vendor trading outside the school.
No deaths were reported.
The World Health Organisation has estimated that 420 000 people die each year from food poisoning.
ActionSA has been ramping up calls for investigations into spaza shops owned by foreign nationals in KZN.
Its provincial leader, Zwakele Mncwango went as far as tabling a motion in the eThekwini Municipality Executive Council. However, the motion failed to take off after the ANC voted against it, while the DA abstained. Unshaken, he launched a petition that has garnered more than 6000 signatures.
On Wednesday, ActionSA president Herman Mashaba visited KwaMashu, promising spaza shops he would be steaming his #Spaza4Locals campaign in an attempt to return the ownership of spaza shops to locals.
ActionSA claimed that spaza shops across the country were collectively worth R200 billion.
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