The National Monitoring Forum (NMF), a non-governmental organization, will host an imbizo today in Polokwane to address the recent increase in cases of foodborne illnesses in Limpopo. The forum has invited government officials and food distributors to participate in discussions aimed at finding solutions to this pressing issue.
Last month, one child died and several others were hospitalized in Limpopo after reportedly consuming contaminated food. Alex Makhura, a spokesperson for the National Monitoring Forum, stated, “We urge the government to remove all unwanted sweets from spaza shops. We need joint operations at all cash-and-carry outlets to ensure these items are taken off the shelves. If these unwanted sweets are not removed from cash-and-carry stores, spaza shops will inevitably purchase them.”
Meanwhile, the National Federated Chamber of Commerce in the Free State has criticized the slow implementation of the province’s Integrated Business Support, Licensing, and Regulation Act which was signed into law in April.
The chamber says seven months after the Act was signed, there hasn’t been much movement. The Act essentially criminalizes the sale of fake goods by providing a regulatory framework where every company in the province should be licensed.
