The Department of Basic Education (DBE) has taken exception to an article published in a popular publication regarding the halting of a tender worth R10 billion for the implementation of the National School Nutrition Programme (NSNP).
The NSNP plays a crucial role in boosting learners' academic performance by providing them with nutritious meals at school. This is extremely important as many South African learners grapple with hunger and poverty.
The DBE says where the NSNP was implemented, it led to significant improvements in punctuality, regular school attendance, concentration, and overall well-being among students.
Reports indicate that newly-appointed Minister of Basic Education, Siviwe Gwarube was unhappy with the deal, which could have led to one service provider taking over. A whistleblower allegedly brought the matter to the attention of the minister.
DBE Refutes Corruption and Centralisation Claims
DBE Director-General, Mathanzima Mweli refuted claims that the DBE published the NSNP tender secretly, stating that the tender was issued after the new administration took office and underwent thorough processing.
The only reason why we are purported to be corrupt is because we are resolute in acting in the best interest of the learner with the modernisation process
Mweli says the article's allegations of corruption and centralisation is wrong emphasising the programme's lawful execution and its focus on improving food quality and supporting small businesses.
The rationale of the modernization project is to ensure that the state maximises its buying power by creating a mechanism to afford maximum benefits from economies of scale. This would enable the government to get better value for money and by doing so improve the quality and quantity of the plate for our children.
Mweli also rejected the claim that the tender would be awarded to a single entity, calling it "mischief-making" and highlighting that the modernisation model includes provisions for small, medium, and micro enterprises (SMMEs) and smallholder farmers as part of a Local Economic Development (LED) focus.
Stakeholders React
Section 27's Matshidiso Lencoasa believes the minister may have prevented a disaster from happening. They explain that if anything were to be amiss with the tender, taking into account the importance of the NSNP, it would be disastrous.
Lencoasa highlighted the potential risks of centralising the tender at the national level, emphasising that any failure in the process could have severe consequences for nearly 10 million learners.
They acknowledge that while centralisation could bring cost savings and improvements, it also raises significant red flags, especially given past issues with corruption in procurement processes.
there are advantages to centralisation…economies of scale, so there could be cost savings and that could be used to extend the school nutrition program to weekends to other Learners who are also impacted… but if it goes wrong on a national level, especially as it begins and if there are allegations, a whistleblower is seeing some issues then it means that so many Learners would be affected because it's nationally administered
Lencoasa stressed the importance of public participation and oversight to ensure the process remains transparent and prioritises the right to quality education and nutrition for learners.