KZN premier wants full probe into school nutrition debacle
KwaZulu-Natal Premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube has ordered a full-scale investigation into the rollout of the National School Nutrition Programme.
The probe will investigate the food distribution model and quality of the food supplied to 5444 schools that are recipients of the feeding scheme programme.
"We need to understand the reasons for the glitches in the system so that necessary interventions are implemented with immediate effect to address the situation," said Dube-Ncube.
Over a week ago, the KZN Education Department said that children in thousands of schools were not able to receive their meals because of service producer challenges.
Food deliveries have since resumed.
Dube-Ncube says that special adviser Advocate Linda Zama and other research teams will be involved in the investigation.
“Our aim is to ensure that all 2.4 million learners in quintiles 1 to 3, including some quintile 4 and 5 schools, continue to be provided with balanced nutritious meals daily. The National School Nutrition Programme grant allocation for the 2023/2024 financial year amounts to R2.1 billion which demonstrates our commitment as government to ensure that children in schools do not go hungry," she said.
Due-Ncube has promised that the outcomes of the investigations will be made public.
"There will be consequence management after the conclusion of all investigations where there is evidence of wrongdoing."
