- A provincial health report shows 70 children died from malnutrition in the past seven months, with poverty cited as the root cause.
- The DA is demanding MEC Bukiwe Fanta resign and wants funds moved from government perks to feed starving children.
At least 70 children in the Eastern Cape have died of hunger in the past seven months, and residents say the government is failing them.
The DA took to the streets on Tuesday, demanding urgent action after the provincial health department confirmed the deaths were linked to child poverty.
In a memorandum to the office of Social Development MEC Bukiwe Fanta, the DA accused her of failing to respond to the crisis and called for her immediate removal.
Provincial leader Vicky Knoetze said: “Hunger in the Eastern Cape is rooted in extreme poverty. That means social development must be the best-run department, but it has failed.”
She pointed out that last year the provincial government spent R852-million on catering, travel and subsistence, yet only nine food parcels were distributed in the first three months of this year.
Among the DA’s demands are a provincial disaster declaration on hunger, the expansion of the school nutrition programme, and new community-based feeding centres. They also want food security built into schools and clinics, with support for gardens and small farmers.
On 12 September, the Human Rights Commission subpoenaed several departments, demanding urgent updates on malnutrition. Eastern Cape Premier Oscar Mabuyane admitted progress has been “sluggish” but said farming and agriculture could help fight hunger.
Pictured above: DA leader Vicky Knoetze hands over a memorandum of demands to the social development department
Image source: DA Eastern Cape
