This action underscores the severe risks posed by illegal pesticides, such as Terbufos and Aldicarb, being sold by these businesses.
Terbufos is an organophosphate chemical that is registered in South Africa for agricultural use, and is not allowed to be sold for general household use. However, Terbufos is being informally sold as a so-called ‘street pesticide’ for domestic use in townships and informal settlements to control rats.
Aldicarb has been banned for use in South Africa since 2016.
A countrywide sweep
Delivering his annual address to the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) in Parliament on Thursday, 28 November 2024, President Cyril Ramaphosa stated that nearly 200,000 spaza shops across the country have been inspected, resulting in the confiscation of large quantities of goods and the issuance of numerous fines for violations of by-laws.
“The tragic deaths of a number of children after eating food from some of these outlets has required urgent and decisive action to prevent the contamination of food by harmful substances, particularly pesticides that are being sold unlawfully,” he said.
Following the tragedy, investigations involved 80 environmental health inspectors and government officials, who by October’s end had visited 84 spaza shops to gather evidence.
The operation, overseen by experts from the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD), used post-mortem results and WHO protocols to analyse the situation and trace the source of contamination.
Illegal pesticide trade
On Friday, 25 October 2024, four individuals were arrested at Johannesburg Mall for trading in Aldicarb, with 1,450g of the chemical confiscated. During subsequent operations in Naledi, spaza shop owners admitted that these individuals were responsible for supplying them with illegal pesticides.
This revelation of illegal pesticide trade prompted swift government action:
Two weeks ago, the president addressed the nation where he declared that he is making child deaths under 12 notifiable, as part of a new planned death-certification system. This will be overseen by a ministerial health advisory committee comprising toxicologists, paediatricians, chemical pathologists, epidemiologists and forensic pathologists.
Strengthened biosecurity at ports, and updated pesticide regulations are planned.
The president also announced the immediate closure of spaza shops implicated in these deaths, and said all spaza shops and food-handling facilities must register with their respective municipalities by Friday, 13 December 2024.
Nation mourns loss
“Few words can adequately convey our sadness and our pain as a nation. Our thoughts and prayers are with their families as they go through the pain and the anguish of losing their children,” Ramaphosa said. “Losing a child is something no parent should ever have to endure.
“The young children who died weren’t just children of their families. They were our children.
“Our people have every right to be upset and to be angry in the face of such tragedies.”
Since September 2024, an estimated 900 children across SA’s provinces have consumed food contaminated with pesticide; 22 have died as a result including six children from Naledi, Soweto.
The youngest child was just six years old.
