The government has pulled out all the stops to contain the food poisoning calamity that has killed more than 20 people and left nearly 900 sick, as it classified the escalating public health crisis as a national disaster.
The move, announced by cabinet ministers on Thursday, is the most significant step yet to tackle the public health crisis after President Cyril Ramaphosa ordered the immediate closure of spaza shops linked to child deaths from poisoning. The classification also comes as the nation grapples with 890 reported cases, mainly in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal.
Velenkosini Hlabisa, co-operative governance & traditional affairs minister, said the classification served as a base for the government to officially declare it as a national disaster.
“The classification helps to activate all government departments to start taking actions in relation to the challenge,” Hlabisa said, hinting at the possibility of a full disaster declaration, which could see military involvement.
“It is sufficient as a base but if you want to escalate the response you have to activate a declaration of a disaster, which has far-reaching implications because you need to mobilise soldiers,” he said.
The classification — gazetted on Monday by the head of the National Disaster Management Centre, Bongani Sithole — coincides with the immediate allocation of R15m for rapid testing of suspected contaminated food products and setting up a R500m fund to support spaza shops and other businesses in the townships and rural areas. The step also kick-started the setting up of a ministerial advisory committee to devise prevention measures.
“The fund, which prioritises businesses such as spaza shops but is not limited [to it], will provide comprehensive financial and nonfinancial support,” the department of trade, industry & competition said.
“This includes stock acquisition, shop refurbishments, IT systems and capacity-building initiatives in technical skills and regulatory compliance.”
In a briefing on Thursday outlining the government’s multidisciplinary response to the food poisoning crisis, justice & constitutional development minister Thembi Simelane said a team of health experts who would serve in the ministerial advisory committee would be announced in the next days. The committee will be responsible for developing prevention measures to curb the incidents of food-borne illnesses in the country.
“The directive to notify the deaths of patients 12 years and [younger] is a critical one and will be implemented as a matter of urgency. This will help us to understand the burden of disease and the population at risk in real time instead of waiting for a long period,” Simelane said.
“The department of health is amending the notifiable medical conditions regulations such that the death of anybody 12 years and younger becomes notifiable. The regulations may be published based on the state of disaster being declared by the minister of co-operative governance & traditional affairs.”
The chemical that had been found by preliminary investigations to have been responsible for the deaths did not emanate from local manufacturers, agriculture minister John Steenhuisen said at the same briefing.
“In terms of terbufos, there are six licences granted in SA for the manufacturing and distribution of it. Only five are active. They are all under strict supply-chain management conditions. This product is not meant for use for any private citizen except for agricultural use ... the terbufos that has been found in SA spaza shops does not emanate from local manufacturers.”
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.