Durban — KwaZulu-Natal Business Forum members are camping outside the headquarters of the Department of Education in Pietermaritzburg, demanding to see MEC Mbali Frazer over the challenges of the school feeding scheme.
The suppliers are demanding the removal of the middlemen that was brought about by changes the department had made in the feeding scheme.
The forum’s provincial secretary Xolani Shange, who led the protest on Thursday, said they have gathered outside the offices because they now demand the MEC’s intervention to remove the services of the company that was appointed to coordinate food supplies between them and the schools.
Shange said initially the department had given the service providers the right to buy food and deliver to schools, but had since taken those responsibilities and given them to the company which was now responsible for purchasing food and delivering to pick-up points where they, as service providers, would pick up and deliver to schools.
He said the company was failing to deliver to the chosen pick-up points and on several occasions service providers had to wait for hours until they went back home without food. Shange added that schools were blaming them and complaining that kids were starving.
“We have been raising our problems with officials, but we are not getting help. We want those services that were taken away from us to be returned. Schools are calling us and we are failing to give them answers when groceries would be delivered because the department took away rights to purchase stocks for ourselves and deliver to schools,” said Shange.
He said as a result of this change, the department took away 70% of the money and gave it to the supplying company. Shange said they also protested outside Treasury offices to draw Finance MEC Peggy Nkonyeni’s attention to the matter.
The department is yet to comment on the matter.
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Daily News