By Kouthar Sambo
The Minister of Sports, Arts, and Culture, Gayton McKenzie, has called for the closure of all foreign-owned tuckshops and the deportation of undocumented foreign nationals. This comes after the rise of incidents where learners in Limpopo, Soweto, Sharpville, and Pretoria (to name a few) died and fell ill after eating toxic snacks bought at the spaza shops, therefore sparking outrage and food safety concerns.
“It is unfortunate that Mckenzie is immersing himself in foreign nationals issues in South Africa without understanding the matter at hand,” remarked a political analyst, Sandile Swana, on VOC’s PM Drive show on Tuesday.
In response to the incident in Limpopo which resulted in 35 learners from Makahlule Primary School in Malamulele who were also treated for food-related illnesses, Swana provided clarity on the matter: “That outbreak of food poisoning coming out of Limpopo, particularly Polokwane, was because the municipality had cut thereafter had inspectors look into the matter but the health inspectors were not doing their job because they had no budget and manpower” clarified Swana.
Furthermore, claims of McKenzie being allegedly xenophobic have also been leveled against him.
Photo: Sourced