The DA in Limpopo is demanding that Education MEC Mavhungu Lerule-Ramakhanya and the Limpopo Department of Education urgently investigate the suspected food poisoning at Mahuntsi Secondary school in Xitlelani near Malamulele to determine the cause of the contamination. The increasing number of food poisoning incidents in schools in Limpopo demands immediate action.
About 48 learners from the school were allegedly hospitalised as a result of suspected food poisoning from the School Nutrition Programme and it is time for the MEC to act immediately. The Nutrition Programme is responsible for feeding about 1.4 million learners as well as combating malnutrition, absenteeism and improving academic performance and the department cannot continue to put learner lives at risk.
We are calling for an immediate investigation into the circuit, the service provider and the food handling conditions at the school. The report on the investigation should then be made available to the Limpopo Legislature Portfolio Committee on Education.
The DA has previously written to Lerule-Ramakhanya, calling for the urgent implementation of suitable health and safety measures in the province’s school nutrition programme to prevent food poisoning following numerous cases. We have also called for an urgent investigation into the safety of kitchens and canteens in all of the province’s schools and in particular the school nutrition programme.
In the 2023/24 financial year all of the department’s 273 sites inspected were not compliant to the Occupational Health and Safety Act . 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.
Limpopo’s poor management of the school nutrition programme has been historically characterised by the delivery of substandard food products, poor storage conditions of the food, theft of food items by criminals and the late or non-delivery of food by service providers.
Lerule-Ramakhanya and her department must investigate the circumstances around this most recent incident, ensure service providers and schools comply with health standards at all times and provide a lasting solution to the food safety issue in our schools. Our learners deserve much better.