KZN court clears school feeding tender to continue
The Pietermaritzburg High Court allows KZN’s R2.9 billion school feeding programme to proceed despite companies contesting irregularities.
Companies contesting KwaZulu-Natal’s R2.9 billion school feeding scheme tender say they are disappointed by a recent court ruling allowing the rollout of the programme to continue.
On Friday, the Pietermaritzburg High Court dismissed their urgent application to halt the tender.
The National School Nutrition Programme feeds over 2.4 million pupils in KZN's schools.
Details of feeding programme case
The court case was launched after companies raised concerns over irregularities in the tender process, claiming that some contracts were awarded to newly registered businesses without proper adherence to procurement rules.
The Nutrition Programme Service Providers Association feels the court did not fully consider the merits of its case.
The association's Lindani Matiwane says, despite the setback, the companies will explore further legal avenues to contest the process.
"We do not understand why it is not urgent because the current contract expires on Monday or Tuesday next week. Then, the new one needs to kick in. So, it is urgent and everything else that we have just mentioned are part of what we were actually going to court with. There are a lot of allegations, but besides allegations, there is evidence."
"For instance, there are companies that have been awarded only to find that they were registered [with] CIPRO in February 2025. So, it [raises] questions. The tender was advertised some time last year in April or so, and it was awarded somewhere in June or so. And a company that was successful had only been registered this year. That has never happened before, even with AI."
KZN Education Department ensures uninterrupted programme
Meanwhile, the KZN Education Department says the court decision ensures the uninterrupted rollout of the School Nutrition Programme.
The department says that the programme remains fully operational and that it is taking steps to ensure efficiency, transparency, and accountability at all levels.
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