The DA in Limpopo is deeply concerned by Limpopo Department of Education’s (LDoE) failure to comply with Occupational Health Safety Act (OHSA) and Environmental Health Regulations and its impact on Learner safety. MEC Mavhungu Lerule-Ramakhanya, must urgently address this.
Inspections by the Department of Labour have seen an increase in the number of prohibitions and contraventions notices against the department and it is mainly for structural defects and dilapidation. All 273 sites inspected were not compliant to the OHSA.
Majority of schools in Limpopo do not have proper kitchens for the preparation of food and certificates of acceptability from the local authorities which is a contravention with the provision of the Environmental Health Regulations. Preparing food under such terrible and usually unhygienic conditions is a risk to learners.
It is no surprise that there was another suspected food poisoning incident at Makahlule Primary in Malamulele yesterday that is reported to have affected up to 35 learners. Cases of food poisoning in Limpopo are now becoming a trend, and it is concerning as schools should be a safe place for teaching and learning.
The Nutrition Programme must be well resourced and a priority to the department, this includes proper kitchens at schools, good quality food from suppliers and the safe storage of food.
In the last year 3,527 schools participated in the school feeding program, which benefited over 1 640 000 learners. The programme also involved 164 Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) and created employment for 10,420 food handlers to manage food preparation offering temporary job opportunities.
Although the department provided 60 schools with mobile kitchens that met health standards in the last financial year, it is a drop in the ocean and will take far too long while we risk the lives of Limpopo learners. Lerule-Ramakhanya and her department simply need to do more!
The DA demands that the department ensure that all kitchen facilities and personnel meet health standards and urges local authorities to conduct regular inspections to assess the compliance and quality of food provided to learners.