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PHUTI MOSOMANE
BASIC Education Minister Angie Motshekga has announced that over 99% of learners in KwaZulu-Natal have now received school nutrition since the end of the Easter holidays.
She provided this update during a media briefing addressing the recent school nutrition crisis in the province.
The crisis arose due to logistical challenges faced by the main service provider, Pacina, which resulted in learners at more than 5,400 schools not receiving food deliveries since the end of the Easter holidays.
Motshekga said that she and her team have been collaborating with the MEC of Education, Mbali Frazer, to address the challenges facing the school nutrition program in KwaZulu-Natal.
“The situation has stabilized greatly. I can confirm that children have been fed, although there were delays in deliveries of food stuff. National Treasury is interested in the matter to ensure that there is no fruitless expenditure,” she said.
“The reason we have come to the province is to ensure that we work together to resolve the challenges, and make sure that by today, 02 May 2023, all the children get their meals. The second priority is to make sure that we sustain the programme.”
The briefing comes on the back of the back of monitoring visits conducted to assess the state of readiness in the implementation of the feeding programme as thousands of learners returned to school after the extended weekend.
During the media briefing, Motshekga explained that the Department of Basic Education has been working to address the school nutrition program issues in KwaZulu-Natal without incurring any fruitless and wasteful expenditure.
“The reports we have gathered during today’s oversight visits indicate that the situation has stabilised in the province. We are also receiving reports indicating that children were indeed fed. There were reports of delays in deliveries, but children were fed,” said Motshekga.
The previous service provider, Pacina, initially opted out of their contract to provide food to schools in the province but later indicated that they would continue to do so until July.
The Minister stated that the legal team is currently handling the issues surrounding Pacina’s contract.
Motshekga said that the central procurement system that was tested by the KwaZulu-Natal province was a step in the right direction, even though the process had some issues.
She said that the department aims to procure food directly from manufacturers to negotiate prices and achieve economies of scale.
The Minister expressed her confidence in the complete delivery of the school nutrition program in KwaZulu-Natal and thanked various teacher unions and SGBs for their collaboration with the provincial department.
She also commended the Premier and MEC for swiftly intervening in the matter, adding that “our main concern has been that children are fed.”
She expressed her satisfaction with the province’s efforts in resolving the issues, stating that over 90% of the children have been fed.
KZN Premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube established an online tool to monitor the progress of the R2 billion school nutrition program, which Motshekga acknowledged during the briefing.
Frazer confirmed that food delivery to learners in the affected schools had resumed after resolving the issues.
She thanked workers, parents, educators, the Minister, and the entire KwaZulu-Natal community for their support in ensuring that learners have access to food.
Last week, Pacina Retail Pty Limited, the company contracted to feed learners in over 5,400 schools in the province, announced that it was opting out. A legal battle is expected since the company is demanding payment for the time that it delivered food to schools.
INSIDE EDUCATION