Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga has apologised after thousands of learners in KwaZulu-Natal have been left without school meals for the past month.
The chaos began after Pacina Retail, a little-known company with no previous background in distributing food to over 5,000 schools, was awarded a R2 billion school feeding scheme tender.
Motshekga, who visited the province on Tuesday, expressed concern over the disruptions to the feeding programme and apologised for any inconvenience caused.
“It is for that reason that, as the Department of Basic Education, we became particularly concerned with the disruptions to the feeding programme. For whatever inconvenience that was caused, as government, we apologise,” said Motshekga.
However, after being briefed by the Premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube’s government about the crisis in over 260 schools, Motshekga said learners were no longer going hungry at school. She said that all schools that were visited have received food and the situation has been restored.
As for the future of the Pacina Retail contract, Motshekga stated that the matter is with their legal team.
However, Pacina has issued an ultimatum to the department, demanding payment for the goods already served to schools and that they are reinstated in the R2 billion nutrition tender.