GOOD Press Statement by Sarah Mabotsa,
GOOD City of Tshwane Councillor & Tshwane Economic Development And Spatial Planning MMC
28 October 2024
The GOOD party would like to commend the work done by the National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure (NATJOINTS) and the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NCID) in investigating the recent spate of food-based illnesses in Gauteng.
In a joint press briefing today it was announced that an Organophosphate called Terbufos was unequivocally responsible for the deaths of the 6 children in Naledi, Soweto.
Organophosphates are usually used in agriculture or industrial-strength pesticides. There is no reason Terbufos should have been used in a domestic setting.
According to the Health Department, children are more susceptible to pesticide toxicity than adults.
As Tshwane Economic Development MMC, I will continue to work with the provincial government to ensure we irradicate these harmful chemicals from Spaza shops.
As the GOOD Party, we commend the SA Police Force for their reactive interventions to remove these dangerous chemicals from shops. But we need more than raids and arrests to protect our children.
We need a proactive education campaign to warn parents and spaza shop owners, regardless of their nationality, about the severe health risks of storing, using or selling industrial-grade pesticides or chemicals.
Small businesses are a crucial part of our economy, but we need to ensure they operate in a compliant manner.
We send our condolences to the parents, family and friends of those who lost their lives due to this preventable poisoning.
As GOOD we will continue to work within the coalition government for the safety and protection of our children.
Media enquiries:
Sarah Mabotsa, GOOD: City of Tshwane Councillor
Cell no: 0646848640
Email: smabotsamuthivhi@gmail.com
Samantha Jackson, GOOD: Media Manager
Cell: 083 5509875
Email: samantha@forgood.org.za