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Health officials are pictured during a compliance inspection visit to a spaza shop in Mpumalanga on 03 November 2024.
The grandmother of the five-year-old boy who passed away in Diepkloof in Soweto yesterday says the family is reeling from shock after the tragedy.
Sekai Ndalimane says her grandson took ill after allegedly consuming snacks bought from a local spaza shop.
This comes as food poisoning-related deaths continue to grow at an alarming rate in Gauteng.
Ndalimane says her last encounter with her grandson was when he was asking for money to purchase the snacks.
“In less than 30 to 45 minutes, his mother called and said: ‘Mama can you please come? Siyabonga is not feeling well, he was completely out vomiting.’ When we get to the hospital they took him to the room and investigated and that was that.”
Meanwhile, Diepkloof ward councillor Brenda Dammie is urging landlords not to harbour illegal and undocumented foreign nationals in their yards to run spaza shops.
Dami says that landlords are giving their South African IDs to foreign nationals who do not meet the requirements to register their spaza shops. She says this continues to further delay the provincial government’s efforts to grow the township economy.
She further adds that this should be a collaborative effort.
“Immediate action”
In an address to the nation last week, President Cyril Ramaphosa called for the banning of spaza shops that have been implicated in food poisoning.
Ramaphosa assured the nation that government is taking immediate action to address the tragic deaths of school children caused by suspected food poisoning.
Foodborne Illnesses | President Ramaphosa says government is taking immediate action:
