Child deaths from pesticides: We hope it doesn't happen again, Parly told
The chairperson of the Parliament’s Agriculture committee, Dina Pule, expects the Department of Agriculture to provide an update on Tuesday about its investigations into the source and distribution of the poisonous substances.
Chairperson of Parliament's Agriculture portfolio committee, Dina Pule. Picture: Parliament/Phando Jikelo
CAPE TOWN – The chairperson of Parliament’s Agriculture committee - Dina Pule - says the committee is disturbed by the deaths of children from pesticides that have tainted food sold from spaza shops.
She says the committee expects the department to provide an update on Tuesday about its investigations into the source and distribution of the poisonous substances.
Last month, Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen said the pesticides don’t originate in South Africa, but advocacy group Unpoison has disputed this.
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Pule hopes the department can provide further clarity regarding the source of the chemical terbufos - identified as the poison used in identified shops.
“We were not satisfied or sure as a committee that there won’t be a repeat of this, and hence we requested they must come with a full report. We are meeting them tomorrow, and hopefully, they will be able to tell us the latest findings out of what they would have investigated,” she said in Parliament.
As the school holiday approaches, Pule says the safety of children is paramount and the departments involved, must get to the bottom of the poison’s source.
“We want to hope that indeed it doesn’t come from the country, or from the South African manufacturers but we also hope that it shouldn’t repeat itself because the loss of lives especially children, it’s very difficult for every parent.
“It’s also very difficult for the country, which is why, it’s very difficult for us as a committee and we wanted to understand where the department stands because we know they are the [overseer] of manufacturers in the country,” she added.