READER LETTER | Our kids come first, Mr President

I am heartbroken at the silence of President Cyril Ramaphosa in the face of the widespread problem of children dying every day from food-borne illnesses. It began with snacks bought from spaza shops, and now children die from poisoning after eating food from the school feeding scheme. 

Ramaphosa does not see the matter being a crisis that needs urgent attention. The nation needs to hear from him, what’s going to happen to end this malady. However, the president has instead kept himself busy with other matters that can never be more important than the welfare of the nation’s children.

In the past week, he attended to Britain’s Prince William’s visit to the country for his climate-focused multimillion-dollar environmental project, the Earthshot Prize. The environment minister could have represented the government while Ramaphosa got himself busy with the issues around the deaths of SA children.

Then we saw the president enjoying the company of another royal, King Misuzulu of the Zulu. The occasion was the unveiling of the statue of Shaka Zulu at Durban airport. The arts and culture minister should have been the main face of government at that event. 

These events and others cannot be as urgent as this issue of children dying, even at schools. The president has not even addressed the nation since this food poisoning crisis started. 

The lives of the people come first Mr President; you cannot ignore the cry of the nation and attend to the matters which are not urgent while our children are dying. Please take this issue seriously so that we can trust it will end soon. 

Stephen Mathibedi, by email