Thousands of learners face the serious possibility of going hungry due to the Gauteng Department of Education’s (GDE) two-month delay in paying service providers responsible for providing meals at Quintile 4 and Quintile 5 schools (the least impoverished and fee-paying schools) under the National School Nutrition Programme (NSNP). The Democratic Alliance (DA) will request the Chairperson of the Gauteng Education Portfolio Committee, Moipone Mhlongo, to summon the GDE MEC Matome Chiloane to appear before the committee to account for this financial crisis.
The DA has made this startling discovery following an official correspondence issued by the acting NSNP director, Ms Busisiwe Mahlangu, who confirmed that the department has failed to pay service providers due to current cash flow challenges, leaving several service providers unpaid for the past two months.
The ripple effect of this failure is severe. If service providers cannot continue delivering food due to non-payment, hundreds of children may soon go without their only daily meal. It is disgraceful that the department’s mismanagement has undermined a programme designed to alleviate hunger.
MEC Chiloane must urgently address the financial crisis, particularly given that the DA has previously raised concerns about the R1 billion allocated to the NSNP and the lack of transparency regarding its spending. There is no justification for letting learners starve while the Premier Panyaza Lesufi-led administration boasts about ensuring that all learners in our schools are fed. Food is a necessity that must be provided without exception.
The DA has submitted questions for oral reply to MEC Chiloane regarding the ongoing NSNP court proceedings. We have also asked supplementary questions on this latest debacle. Unfortunately, the responses were more evasive than helpful, failing to address the urgent need.
A DA-led Gauteng Provincial Government would ensure timely payments to service providers under the NSNP, manage budgets transparently and with full accountability to prevent any learner from going hungry due to financial mismanagement, corruption, or bureaucratic delays observed currently.