SGBs must ensure food vendors trading on school premises are compliant - GDE
Tuck shops, vendors and traders in Gauteng have been given the green light to trade on school premises again.
FILE: Informal street vendors wait for clients in front of a wall that reads “BOOKED FOR EFF (Economic Freedom Fighters) ” during a campaign rally at the Alexandra stadium in Johannesburg on 27 April 2024. Picture: EMMANUEL CROSET/AFP
JOHANNESBURG - School governing bodies have to ensure that food vendors trading on school premises are certified and compliant.
Tuck shops, vendors and traders in Gauteng have been given the green light to trade on school premises again.
Earlier this month, a ban was put in place to deal with incidents of suspected food poisoning among school children.
Gauteng Education Department spokesperson, Steve Mabona, explained where certification for school vendors could be obtained.
"Those that are unregistered, they must be encouraged to go and register because there's a process at the municipal offices. There are 80 centres that have been announced already where they can be formally accepted and then certified."
Mabona said that their initial ban was a preventative step.
"After the cabinet in Gauteng announced that all departments needed to play a significant role in taking steps in preventing some of these incidents, then we stopped the selling. Since we stopped, we did not receive any incidents that was reported."
Mabona said that vendors were unhappy with the decision but following the president's address last week, a circular was issued on how to manage food sales in and around schools.