The shortage of health inspectors in the City of Johannesburg (COJ) due to budget cuts is endangering the lives of Gauteng learners.
This was discovered yesterday by the Democratic Alliance (DA) during an engagement with the COJ’s Regional Director and officials following an incident in Soweto where primary school learners bought snacks from a spaza shop that allegedly poisoned them.
The Regional Director stated that the operational budget for health and social development was R100 million 12 years ago but had been reduced to R49 million. According to him, this has led to a shortage of resources and capacity, with 16 health inspectors covering 19 wards. Some inspectors oversee more than one ward, which is nowhere near the world health standards of having one inspector per 10,000 people.
Furthermore, the COJ delegation admitted a lack of enforcement for by-laws. The DA’s oversight investigation found that spaza shops close to Karabo Primary School and Khauhelo Primary School in Naledi, Soweto, are not compliant with health and safety regulations.
See photos here, here and here.
The shortage of health inspectors in both Naledi and Johannesburg indicates a gross neglect of the health and safety of our learners by the COJ. It cannot be that we continue to lose young people due to the City’s failure to enforce by-laws and ensure that those who sell consumables are compliant with the health and safety regulations.
The DA demands an open inquiry into this matter of the learners who allegedly succumbed to food poisoning. We further demand that the COJ get its act together, prioritise health inspections and provide adequate resources for environmental health officials to perform their duties. This is a serious issue, and the City should allocate sufficient funds to ensure enough boots on the ground to handle it.
The DA Johannesburg will continue to conduct vigorous oversight inspections to determine the compliance of food handlers and hold officials accountable for not doing their job.
A DA government would ensure regular inspections and close down food handlers who contravene the health and safety regulations. This would be done through intergovernmental relations between the local and provincial governments, including different stakeholders involved in ensuring that by-laws are enforced and health and safety regulations are adhered to save the lives of our learners.
The DA will continue to push until food safety inspections are prioritised to end health risks and preventable deaths.