Nearly 200 000 spaza shops visited during inspections: Ramaphosa

President Cyril Ramaphosa says since the announcement of measures two weeks ago, multi-disciplinary teams have been conducting inspections of spaza shops across the country.

This comes as the country experiences a surge in the number of deaths and cases related to food-borne illnesses among children.

The tragic deaths of a number of children after eating food from some of these outlets has required urgent and decisive action to prevent the contamination of food by harmful substances, particularly pesticides that are being sold unlawfully.

— Cyril Ramaphosa 🇿🇦 (@CyrilRamaphosa) November 28, 2024

Ramaphosa says nearly 200 000 spaza shops have been visited and more than 1 000 spaza shops, supermarkets and warehouses have been closed down.

He was delivering an annual address to the National Council of Provinces in Cape Town.

“The recent spate of food-borne illnesses has highlighted the risks that associated with these enterprises. The tragic deaths of a number of children after eating food from some of these outlets has required urgent and decisive action to prevent the contamination of food by harmful substances, particularly pesticides that are being sold unlawfully.”

Ramaphosa says the government has been working to break the cycle of poverty by investing in education.

Almost 90% of all learners in the public education system attend no-fee schools.

The number of students benefiting from NSFAS rose from around 40,000 in the early years of democracy toover 780,000 last year.

VIDEO | President Cyril Ramaphosa’s NCOP speech.
— Cyril Ramaphosa 🇿🇦 (@CyrilRamaphosa) November 28, 2024