What classifying foodborne illnesses as disaster means

The classification of foodborne illnesses as a national state of disaster means various departments and municipalities have the power to compile their own assessment of the severity of the crisis. 

The department of co-operative governance and traditional affairs (Cogta) said if the cases are found to be severe or increasing, they will then declare foodborne illnesses as a national disaster.

So far, more than 20 children have died of suspected foodborne illness 

"The classification allows different departments and municipalities to get more information about the issue," said Cogta spokesperson Legadima Leso.

"They will check if the situation is getting worse or not and whether the measures that are put in place by the president are working.

"The classification allows departments, provinces and municipalities to go and assess the situation and where they need to spend, they are allowed to spend, they are allowed to use their resources to assess and gather information and if the report suggests that yes, things are getting worse, they will then declare," Leso said.

He said the regulations of the declaration will be influenced by the information obtained during the classification period.

On Thursday, Cogta minister Velinkosi Hlabisa said the government has laid the base to declare foodborne illness a national state of disaster.

Hlabisa was speaking at a media briefing in Pretoria on Thursday, where the government tabled its action plan to address how it will deal with the foodborne crises.

Hlabisa was flanked by the ministers of health, justice and constitutional development, small businesses and enterprise, basic education, agriculture as well as trade and industry and competition.

The decision comes after the National Disaster Management Centre classified foodborne illnesses as a national disaster.

The classification encourages organs of state, the private sector and communities to improve their practices of risk avoidance through adherence to food safety legislation, standards and procedures.

It also encourages individuals to comply with applicable business registration legislation, standards and procedures.

Another thing it does is recommend that the national executives, respective provincial executives and municipal councils implement a multi-sectoral relief and rehabilitation plan to deal with the effects of the disaster.

“The classification was done on Tuesday, not the declaration. The next step now is to do due consideration of the declaration.

“As [the department] we are working towards the declaration of national disaster, but we are being guided by the developments and all the steps that need to be followed.”

The next process is for the government to draft the declaration notice that will be signed by the Cogta minister and be gazetted.

When answering the plea for the government to extend the 21 days set by President Cyril Ramaphosa for business owners to register their spaza shops and informal traders, Hlabisa said the days were enough as it only takes one day to register a business.

“A person running a business should go to the municipality and register their business and not wait for the last day because on the last day you might have missing documents, and miss registering. Twenty-one days are enough, go and register your business today,” Hlabisa said.

Meanwhile, justice minister Thembi Simelane issued a stern warning against those who register on behalf of undocumented immigrants.

“We are concerned about surfacing allegations that suggest that some South Africans are assisting [undocumented immigrants] to fraudulently comply with the requirements for registration. This is clear fronting, and we would like to warn everyone who is involved in this illegal activity to stop.