Durban – KwaZulu-Natal’s premier, accompanied by the MECs for education and economic development, will be conducting oversight visits at the province’s schools this morning to assess the state of the National School Nutrition Programme.
The programme has been plagued by challenges since the start of the second term, after the department opted to change the system it had been using to deliver food to schools.
In terms of the new system, a sole supplier was appointed with existing suppliers in the programme directed to collect food from pick-up points and deliver it to schools.
In the old system, the suppliers had purchased and delivered food as part of their duties. However, problems arose with complaints over the distances between pick-up points and schools, as well as the quality and quantity of food available.
While it was reported last week that the main supplier had withdrawn from the contract, the company Pacina Retail issued a statement on Saturday stating that the contract remained in force.
In addition, the education department had in a circular said it had reverted to the old system.
In a statement issued last night, the provincial government said Premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube would lead MECs on the oversight visits.
The statement did not state which feeding scheme system would be in place today, as thousands of learners return to school after the extended weekend.
Instead it said the provincial government has developed a monitoring and reporting tool to be used by the teams on the ground to collate and feed information to a central point in real time to ensure quick analysis of the situation and rapid interventions where necessary.
Dube-Ncube will visit schools under the Pinetown District, the leader of government business and MEC for economic development, tourism and environmental affairs Siboniso Duma is to visit schools under the uMgungundlovu District, and Education MEC Mbali Frazer is to visit schools under the uThukela District.
All the MECs have been deployed to monitor schools where they are designated as district political champions, the statement said.