Almost every month our calendar is themed around a certain issue or commemoration. These are days that we should not observe merely to tick a box; we should demonstrate through our actions that they mean something and that we take them seriously.
In South Africa, the past month is observed as Children’s Month, with November 2 as National Children’s Day and joining all global citizens on November 20 to observe World Children’s Day.
On November 2, six children were buried after eating food that had been bought at a spaza shop. By November 20, that number had risen to 23. A state of disaster was declared on November 21, and a family meeting called by President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that all spaza shops had to be registered within 21 days.
In the meantime, children and adults alike continued to buy food from spaza shops, and life went on without the urgent action that should accompany a state of disaster. This should worry us and prompt deeper reflection on why we are so nonchalant about a crisis.
Flags should have been at half-mast. Retired and trainee health inspectors should have been immediately recruited to begin inspecting the places of preparation and sale of food, and the entire value chain should be audited for compliance with health and safety standards and regulations.
Flags should have been at half-mast. Retired and trainee health inspectors should have been immediately recruited to begin inspecting the places of preparation and sale of food, and the entire value chain should be audited for compliance with health and safety standards and regulations.
The response to a crisis has truly been “too little, too late”. We have seen the mushrooming of spaza shops over the years and have turned a blind eye, instead of immediately calling into action the regulations that are in place; however, as usual, they are not enforced. Duty-bearers are often willing to sacrifice their sense of duty for a “cool drink”, with no regard for the downstream effects of not upholding the laws of this country and, in this case, the safety regulations.
While I digress, we need to seriously raise the issue of “cool drink” at some other time and how we aim to curb it.
The blame for selling contaminated food has been placed solely on the shoulders of the spaza shops, but is that where we should start? International and domestic standards regulate the supply of food. Why are these regulations not being implemented and adhered to at home?
The state has the sole mandate to create and implement these standards and regulate the entire food chain, including producers, wholesalers and retailers, as well as informal retailers such as spaza shops. Furthermore, the state licenses food suppliers, including retailers. State policies exist, but they need to be implemented; this can be achieved by using the same residents to work closely with bodies such as law enforcement agencies.
When standards are not adhered to, the state must step in to hold those responsible for violations accountable. The fact that spaza shops have been allowed to operate without licences is a failure on the part of the state. If licensing rules are not enforced, anything can be sold, posing a risk — in this case, of death — to the consumers who, in this instance, are children.
The right to food is a constitutional one that is also entrenched in international instruments. This right imposes obligations on parents and the state. The role of the parent or caregiver is to provide food, while that of the state is to ensure that systems are in place to guarantee that what is sold is not health- or life-threatening. However, there has been a failure of mammoth proportions in ensuring that the systems designed to maintain food safety operate effectively.
It is a tragedy that we lost so many children unnecessarily during a month when the inaugural Global Ministerial Conference on Ending Violence Against Children, held on November 7-8 in Bogotá, Colombia, brought together global leaders, policymakers and activists to address violence against children.
It is a tragedy that, in the month in which we commence the observance of 16 days of activism against violence towards women and children, there has been no public outcry regarding this form of violence against children. This is an opportune time for us to devise consequential actions so that our next steps will be definitive and will guide us along a better path — one that places our children first.
Our late former president Nelson Mandela once said: “Our children are the rock on which our future will be built; our greatest asset as a nation.” This asset is being destroyed in our backyard daily, and we are complicit in our deafening silence. We need to do better, and we need to start now
Dr Linda Ncube-Nkomo, CA (SA), PhD, is the CEO of the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund
For opinion and analysis consideration, email Opinions@timeslive.co.za
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