Plettenberg Bay - Residents of a Plettenberg Bay informal settlement were shocked to find a number of food parcel items, received as part of relief efforts following a fire, had expired.
The fire broke out after a paraffin stove fell over in one of the homes in KwaNokuthula settlement in the town on Tuesday, leaving 26 people homeless.
They received relief in the form of blankets, mattresses and food, which they discovered had expired over a year ago, in May.
The food parcels consisted of cooking oil, packets of mealie meal, rice, raw beans, and samp. They also included coffee, tea and canned goods in the form of pilchards and mixed vegetables.
The South African Communist Party slammed the DA-run Bitou Municipality for handing out potentially harmful food to residents.
“This is the second recorded incident of this nature by the DA government in the province. In December 2013, the City of Cape Town distributed expired food packages to hundreds of fire victims residing in Valhalla Park,” the party’s Western Cape spokesman, Masonwabe Sokoyi said.
“The dangerous consequences of consuming such food should have been realised by authorities. As the SACP, we condemn this recurring negligence and strongly advise authorities to either opt for food vouchers or ensure proficient administration of their disaster management distribution processes.”
The municipality reportedly received the packages from the Eden District Municipality in June.
Memory Booysen, executive mayor for the Bitou Municipality, acknowledged that the “potentially poisonous food” was handed to the residents. He said the council’s disaster management teams had not checked the expiry dates because the foods were kept in sealed boxes.
“I would not deny it, and we as the municipality apologise profusely and will now take charge and ensure that problems of this nature do not occur again.
“We received the food boxes with their contents, supplied to us by the Eden District Municipality, four months ago and never opened them. It is why we were unaware that the food had expired when it was distributed,” said Booysen.
The boxes remained sealed, he said, because there had been problems with theft and it was the only way “to avoid theft by officials before the food was handed over to the victims”.
Nonqaba Ntsutsu, 38, one of the victims of the fire, slammed authorities for their negligence. “Had it not been for our curiosity to look at the canned food we would have fallen ill from food poisoning. It is unfair that government officials act negligently when they assist destitute people such as us.”
Booysen confirmed the fouled food had been collected and that “freshly cooked meals” were being supplied to the residents being housed in the KwaNokuthula Community Hall.
Cape Argus