Spaza Ship/ Picture: Pexels
Chaotic does not even begin to describe South Africa’s state and its politics as the Government of National Unity (GNU) navigates their newly found coalition. After a rise in the reporting of food poisoning cases resulting from various factors, Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, Thembi Simelane has finally declared foodborne illnesses a national disaster.
The announcement comes after numerous pleas by citizens as the number of cases of people, more especially children reported to have gotten ill due to ingesting expired food continues to rise expeditiously. Initially, President Cyril Ramaphosa addressed the nation and announced that small business owners would be given a deadline of 21 days to register their businesses with their respective municipalities. It was revealed during the numerous reported cases that the food responsible for illnesses was bought from shops owned by illegal immigrants.
This has given rise to even more tension as local community members look to the government for protection from these instances. According to community members, the president’s precautionary measures were not enough as it would not solve the issue of illegal immigrants being given a platform to destroy communities by selling expired food.
Stella, I don’t think you and your president understand what people want. We don’t want foreigners in our communities qha!!! What’s so difficult to understand?
— 𝐋𝐔𝐂𝐊𝐘 𝐊𝐔𝐍𝐄𝐍𝐄 🇿🇦🇿🇦 🇿🇦 (@LuckyKunene2024) November 19, 2024
This is nonsense , how is registering going to immediately stop the poisoning of our communities? shutting down foreign owned spazas & factories manufacturing these poisonous foods till they meet all requirements was the answer but keh! we have no leadership but pop stars sitting…
— Rabs G 🌐 (@Rabs2013) November 19, 2024
Locals have welcomed the decision by the government to declare a national disaster as a step in the right direction to curbing the bigger issue of illegal immigration. However, they have highlighted the need for the government to be less reactive and more proactive in issues of this nature and express concern for what the next move will be for the GNU.
One can’t help but wonder how long the GNU has until this bubbling pot called South Africa spills over as citizens continue to voice frustrations with decision-makers. Issues such as illegal immigration, inequality and racism continue to top the list of issues plaguing the country, and South Africans are ready for a turnaround.
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