ATC160609: Report of the Portfolio Committee on Basic Education concerning the Petition from Residents of Limpopo, requesting an audit of the schools feeding programme in the Province, submitted in terms of Rule 312 (Ms D Van Der Walt, MP), dated 24 May 2016
Basic Education
Report of the Portfolio Committee on Basic Education concerning the Petition from Residents of Limpopo, requesting an audit of the schools feeding programme in the Province, submitted in terms of Rule 312 (Ms D Van Der Walt, MP), dated 24 May 2016
The Portfolio Committee on Basic Education, having considered the Petition from Residents of Limpopo, requesting an audit of the schools feeding programme in the Province, submitted in terms of Rule 312 of the National Assembly, reports as follows:
On Tuesday, 28 October 2015, the Portfolio Committee on Basic Education convened a meeting to consider the Petition from Residents of Limpopo, requesting an audit of the schools feeding programme in the Province, submitted in terms of Rule 312 brought by Hon D Van Der Walt MP. The Portfolio Committee also called the Department of Basic Education to form part of the meeting to give the perspective and response from the Department of Basic Education.
1. Petition by Hon D Van Der Walt
The Petition from Hon Van Der Walt was submitted to, and received by, the Speaker of Parliament on 2 September 2015. Hon Van Der Walt, in her correspondence, indicated that the Petition was signed by 606 members of various communities in relation to the poor standards of the School Nutrition Programme in Limpopo schools.
This matter had been raised in the Limpopo Legislature after a march to the relevant Department in Limpopo. However, the Limpopo Department of Education which had been under administration for several years was still not providing quality and prescribed menu meals to the most vulnerable children in schools. Often, this was the only meal a learner would have for the day.
Hon Van Der Walt also alluded to an outstanding case lodged at the Public Protector on the alleged fraudulent awarding of tenders to family and friends of the Senior Manager of the School Nutrition Programme in Limpopo, as well as tenders awarded to alleged family and friends of the previous African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) President, Mr Julius Malema. This had a negative impact on delivery to needy children and cost millions of rands.
Her conclusion was that communities did not trust the Limpopo Department of Education and was asking for a proper audit on the School Nutrition Programme by the national Department of Basic Education to ensure food received by learners was of quality and free of anything that could cause illness or harm to them.
2. Input by the Department of Basic Education on Tuesday, 28 October 2015:
Although the Department of Basic Education presented a detailed response to the Petition submitted, Hon Van Der Walt, not disputing the responses, indicated that the responses did not deal adequately with all the issues raised in the Petition tabled. These included:
- The fraudulent awarding of tenders to family and friends of the Senior Manager of the NSNP in Limpopo;
- The tenders awarded to alleged family and friends of the previous ANCYL President, Mr Julius Malema; and
- An audit of the NSNP in Limpopo by the DBE.
3. Input by the Department of Basic Education on Tuesday, 23 February 2016:
3.1 Background:
In the 2014/15 financial year, schools in the Sekhukhune District in the Limpopo Province were affected by widespread food contamination, thus drawing negative publicity in the media and communities. There were also reports of learners who died after alleged food poisoning in schools around the Sekhukhune District.
The Department of Basic Education (DBE) received a petition from the Democratic Alliance that was delivered on 16 March 2015, at the Limpopo Department of Education, on the NSNP in the province. The following submissions were made in the petition:
3.1.1 In October 2014, two learners passed away after allegedly ingesting contaminated food provided by the NSNP in the Sekhukhune District.
Responses from the Department of Basic Education
In November 2014, the Department of Basic Education, in collaboration with the Limpopo Department of Education, immediately intervened by deploying a team of ten officials to conduct monitoring and support visits to 45 schools in the Sekhukhune District. In addition, 13 warehouses of all retailers delivering food items to schools were visited.
In relation to allegations of a learner who died at Kwena Chuene Primary School, this was found to be untrue, as confirmed by the District NSNP Manager, who visited the school. In addition, on 10 November 2014, the School Principal confirmed that four learners were hospitalised, but no death occurred.
A media report also alleged that a learner at Makgane Primary School in the Sekhukhune District died of food poisoning linked to the NSNP. The Department intervened by visiting the school. During a parents/community meeting organised by the School Governing Body (SGB) to discuss the non-feeding, some parents and community members placed the blame for food poisoning on the feeding programme. However, this was corrected by the deceased learner’s parent present at this meeting, indicating that the child’s death had nothing to do with the programme. The Department extended this investigation to other schools in the District and was satisfied that the cause of death was not related to the School Nutrition Programme as alleged.
3.1.2 A total of 1 600 learners took ill after consuming contaminated school food since October 2014. This happened in six separate reported incidents, at Makhabeni Primary, Mashegoanyane Primary, Makeke Primary, Kwena Chuene Primary and Makgane Primary.
Responses from the Department of Basic Education
All learners in the affected schools were taken to the local hospital and clinic for special medical examination. They were all treated and released without any serious consequences. The local nursing staff indicated that some learners were cleared of ill-health and reacted out of panic. A team that comprised the Department of Basic Education, the Provincial Department of Education and the Department of Health, visited all affected schools to assess the situation. The School Management Teams were advised to immediately stop feeding and to remove all contaminated food products. The Department of Basic Education assimilated the services of the Department of Health to address the gaps in food safety; the Department of Health conducted training workshops for all volunteer food handlers in the Sekhukhune District. The intervention by the Departments of Basic Education and Health assisted the programme to resume in most schools.
3.1.3 Between October 2014 and December 2014, in Vhembe and Mopani Districts, 38 034 learners did not receive their food due to the non-delivery of food stuffs by Department suppliers.
Responses from the Department of Basic Education
The Department was not aware of non-delivery of food stuffs by suppliers during the said period. In addition, the NSNP District Managers have also indicated that there were no reports of non-feeding due to non-delivery of food stuffs by suppliers during that period. During the Section 100 (1) (a) intervention, 13 wholesalers were engaged to deliver food stuff directly to schools, based on their capacity and willingness to extend supplies on credit (i.e. having a strong financial position). Prior to their engagement, the Department also monitored their warehouses to ensure compliance with food specifications and standards. It was also intended to address past incidents of non-delivery by defaulting service providers. During monitoring, it was observed that the delivery of their services was consistent, ensuring that feeding continues with no interruptions. It was only after thorough investigations on the alleged food contamination in October 2014 in Sekhukhune, that the services of two of the thirteen wholesalers were terminated, following sub-standard food products found at some schools. The other 11 were requested to extend their services to these affected schools so as not to disrupt feeding.
3.1.4 From January 2014 to March 2014, in Capricorn and Sekhukhune Districts, 14 006 learners did not benefit from the National School Nutrition Programme (NSN), while the Department underspent on the NSNP by R59 264 000 in 2013-14.
Responses from the Department of Basic Education
The Department was aware of the under-expenditure by the Province due to delays in submission of invoices by some service providers and challenges with the BAS system.
3.1.5 The Auditor General management report highlighted failings in the NSNP, including:
- Rotten fruit and vegetables that were unfit for human consumption;
- Potentially expired food items were delivered to schools in that expiry dates were not visible on food products; and
- No proof of monitoring of food handlers was found.
Responses from the Department of Basic Education
The Department addressed the audit finding during the inter-provincial meetings in the 2014/15 financial year with all NSNP provincial managers. Work is in progress with the Limpopo Department of Education to address the findings of the Auditor General’s Report.
3.2 The current status of the programme in Limpopo
3.2.1 On 10 – 14 September 2015, officials from the Department conducted monitoring and support visits to five districts in the Limpopo Province namely: Sekhukhune, Capricorn, Mopani, Waterberg and Vhembe. In all the 21 schools visited, the school feeding programme was implemented with success. The Department would ensure that all qualifying schools receive meals on a daily basis.
3.2.2 In 2015, the Province had advertised a new tender for the NSNP that closed on 02 July 2015. The contracts for the current wholesalers were extended to 31 December 2015, as a transitional measure. The process of awarding new tenders was underway. The Department would investigate and monitor whether all due processes were followed in terms of the supply chain management. Furthermore, in conjunction with the Provincial Treasury, the Department would ensure that all prospective bidders were vetted before being awarded the tender.
3.2.3 Currently, the Office of the Presidency (i.e. the Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation) in collaboration with the Department had commissioned the Joint Education Trust to assess the implementation of the entire NSNP in all provinces. The outcome of the research report would be useful in validating the status of the programme in Limpopo and other provinces, while recommendations would be used to develop an Implementation Plan to improve the quality and efficiencies in the programme.
3.3 Strengthened capacity to monitor the programme
3.3.1 The Department had strengthened collaboration with the Department of Health to source support from Environment Health Practitioners at Local Municipalities to monitor preparation areas and further assist with training of role-players, to ensure meals served to learners comply with health and safety standards. Plans were underway to establish Food Safety Management Teams at provincial district and circuit levels. Amongst others, this would facilitate the training of volunteer food handlers towards monitoring their health standards. A step-by-step Guide on how to respond to emergencies in food contamination and/or poisoning in schools had been forwarded to all the provincial Heads of Department to further disseminate and empower schools in handling food.
3.3.2 The Department was currently piloting a monitoring solution using technology with sponsorship from Vodacom in 27 schools in the Masemola circuit, Sekhukhune District from 20 August until October 2015. The lessons learned from this pilot would inform a roll-out monitoring solution in other districts. This would provide real-time data and in response, the Department would ensure that food was delivered fresh and food without expiry dates would not be accepted. This would further compel schools to adhere to the approved menu options.
3.3.3 The Department was in partnership with Feed Uplift Educate Love “FUEL”, a non-profit organisation, to strengthen monitoring and reporting systems to improve efficiencies in implementing the NSNP. FUEL had initiated a monitoring system, viz. Monitoring, Reporting and Response (MRR) which “provides NSNP officials with a “mirror” to see how well schools are implementing the NSNP and an opportunity to respond in order to improve programme delivery”. The MRR was implemented in all districts to ensure the most effective way of assessing whether “nutritious meals are served to learners (on time)’. In collaboration with the Provincial Department, FUEL had conducted training workshops in the Mopani District and would progressively extend it to all districts in Limpopo in 2015. This would strengthen monitoring which would also benefit the provincial menus as issues on quality and quantity would be addressed.
4.3.4 The Department would continue to monitor the programme and support the Provincial Department towards improving the quality of the programme in the interest of all learners in the Limpopo Province.
4. The Department undertook to follow-up on some of the outstanding issues raised in the Petition.
The Portfolio Committee on Basic Education, having considered the Petition from Residents of Limpopo, requesting an audit of the schools feeding programme in the Province, submitted in terms of Rule 312, reports that:
The information and documentation submitted by the Department of Basic Education in response to the Petition sufficiently addresses the matters raised in the Petition. The Portfolio Committee is satisfied that the response is an adequate start to addressing the concerns raised by the Petitioners. The Portfolio Committee further appreciates the offer from the Department of Basic Education to work with the Petitioners to ensure that all challenges identified are speedily addressed as a matter of urgency.
Report to be considered.
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