Limpopo Department of Education Spokesperson Mike Maringa has confirmed that they uplifted of the ban on the sale of food at schools in November last year.
“The department has lifted the suspension of selling of food in our school last year, after a thorough process to register the vendors who are selling at the schools, we can confirm that many vendors in their thousands complied with a request to register themselves, to sign service level agreement with the SGBs,” says Maringa.
Hawkers at Marobjane in Senwabarwana, Limpopo, claim they are being barred by two local schools from selling food and snacks near the school premises—despite a directive from the Limpopo Department of Education lifting the ban on food sales last year.
In November 2023, the department communicated that the suspension of vendor operations at schools had been lifted, granting schools and hawkers until 11 November 2024 to comply with updated requirements, including vendor registration, health, and safe food practices.
However, hawkers say they are still being prevented from trading. Mapitsi Ramokgobedi, a spokesperson for the group of affected vendors, says the decision is hurting families that rely on these sales for survival.
“Here at Malusi Secondary School, six of us women used to sell food. These are our children, and I’m hurt because I have seven kids to support. Where am I supposed to get the hundreds of rands the school demands? I have a child in matric who needs R2,000 for matric camp. Where will I get that money when they’ve prevented me from selling? I’ve never been employed; I’ve been selling here since 1998,” she says.
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