As basic education minister Siviwe Gwarube says she was forced to hold back on a R10bn school nutrition tender over corruption suspicions, we are left to contend with the words of Nelson Mandela — that there is no stronger “revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children”.
Whistle-blowers who suspected potential flaws in the awarding of the tender reported that it was quietly issued by the department when it had no minister and as the ANC and other parties were engaged in negotiating the formation of a government of national unity.
This would not be the first time that issues of procurement for school nutrition have made the news. Just last week it was announced that cost-cutting measures in KwaZulu-Natal are threatening to collapse the school nutrition and learner transport programmes.
This is despite the department being allocated R63bn, the lion’s share of the province’s R150bn budget, by the provincial treasury. Presenting the department’s budget speech, education MEC Sipho Hlomuka said 82% (about R52bn) of that budget would go to staff salaries, leaving only 18% for the rest of the department's programmes.
The Sunday Times reported that the tender was intended to centralise procurement for the national school nutrition programme from January through a “managing agent” and apparently as part of its modernisation project. It is commendable that the department wants to have better handling of the tender as it introduces potential risks to the provision of much-needed nutrition to millions of children across the country.
There is no room for flaws as reports such as the “Child Malnutrition and the Right to Food in the Eastern Cape” by the South African Human Rights Commission have warned that children are dying of hunger. The school programme provides a necessary support for the children who mostly come from disadvantaged homes. The commission found that the prevalence of acute malnutrition and deaths among children in the Eastern Cape was high, as evidenced by data on child mortality.
It also found that the right to food under section 27 of the constitution had been violated across several levels of government. Provision of nutrition to children should not be negotiated and we hope the department resolves the issues with this specific tender and sets a precedent of proper checks and balances on procurement.
The department is seeking legal advice and has also sought advice from the National Treasury. Gwarube, a former DA chief whip, said that before assuming office, the department’s management team conceptualised a school nutrition modernisation programme which would see the centralisation of the supply of food to pupils. This is correct as there is no guarantee that this one company will be able to supply all provinces on time and without problems. A day without a meal is too much for any child, especially the poor for whom the programme mostly caters.
Throwing money at the problem is not the right approach, it should be structured in a way that accountability, checks and balances are easy. It also raises questions on who the company belongs to. The department cited service providers who deliver poor quality food, with inadequate traceability of food safety procedures, production batch numbers and associated records and a failure to efficiently use a tracking system to monitor deliveries, stock and quality within the system.
It also promises efficient and electronic stock management, buying directly from producers and manufacturers, sourcing products in provinces, full traceability of food safety, batch numbers and associated records, interactive logistic controls and timely deliveries using regional and provincial warehousing and local economic empowerment of women, youth and people living with disability who will be prioritised.
How this is handled will lay bare the regard, or lack thereof, for the wellbeing of society’s vulnerable.
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