Cape Town, 6 December (IANS). South African Vice President Paul Mashatile has appealed for active participation of citizens in ensuring food security. He has also asked the people of the country to complain about suspicious food handling to the competent authorities.
According to Xinhua news agency, he made this appeal during an oral question-and-answer session in the National Assembly of Parliament in Cape Town, the country’s legislative capital. This comes amid growing concerns over contaminated food behind the recent deaths of students across the country.
“As a government, we condemn in the strongest terms the irresponsible actions that have led to the recent deaths of people from contaminated foods,” Mashatile said in the National Assembly, responding to a question about the cases. Lost their lives. Children are the most affected.”
He also told about the legal steps necessary to stop this. This includes making it mandatory for all shops and food-handling facilities to register with municipalities within 21 days to ensure legal process.
Mashatile stressed that the initiative will enforce legal compliance and uplift the township economies by integrating these businesses into the broader economic framework. “We must provide not only the legal framework, but also meaningful support,” he said.
To boost this effort, Mashatile explained that the Department of Small Business Development has introduced measures to help small businesses comply with health and safety regulations. Additionally, a joint fund of 500 million rand (approximately $27.7 million) has been established to support South African-owned businesses in townships and rural areas after meeting compliance requirements.
“In addition, we are tackling foodborne incidents and unregistered spaza shops through the National Joint Operations and Intelligence Structure, which is a multi-sector intervention plan,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Vice President stressed the importance of public participation and encouraged citizens to report suspicious food-handling activities, especially unregistered shops or the sale of counterfeit goods, to local authorities.
–IANS
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