The Department of Justice & Constitutional Development has issued a media statement outlining progress made in implementing interventions recently announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa with the aim of curbing food poisoning. This is noting that two weeks have passed since Co-operative Governance & Traditional Affairs Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa gazetted a standard draft municipal by-law intended to address issues understood to be at the root of the problem, namely:
As SA Legal Academy reported at the time, the term ‘draft’ gave the by-law the status of a guideline to be used by individual municipalities in developing requirements specific to their jurisdictions.
The media statement tends to suggest that most municipalities have yet to take the necessary steps, only ‘several’ having done so nationwide. Possibly as a result, on 19 November 2024 foodborne illness was declared a national disaster.
Outlining plans for addressing the crisis at a practical level, the statement refers to one other imminent regulatory move: an amendment to the notifiable medical conditions regulations adding ‘the death of anybody 12 years and younger’ to the list. SA Legal Academy readers will be alerted to the amendment as soon as it is gazetted.
More broadly, the following interventions are already under way:
State-run schools have already been issued with best practice protocols for preventing and managing foodborne illness.
Published by SA Legal Academy Policy Watch
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