• The Department of Education failed to pay school food suppliers, some of whom have not received any money since April.

• Over a million pupils were at risk of hunger, with thousands already going without food from Monday this week.

Thousands of hungry schoolchildren in KwaZulu-Natal spent this week without food after the Department of Education failed to pay nutrition service providers.

Many of the affected service providers say they have not been paid since April, despite submitting the correct paperwork. Some even used their own money or took out loans to keep feeding pupils. But they say they have now run out of resources.

On Monday, 2 June, several schools received no food deliveries at all, confirming earlier warnings from suppliers that they would not be able to continue without payment.

The National School Nutrition Programme (NSNP) Service Providers Association said its members were left in the dark.

“The department has offered no formal communication or explanation for the delay,” said spokesperson Thabang Mncwabe.

Mncwabe said this has been a problem all year and the delay puts more than a million children at risk of hunger.

“We cannot allow financial mismanagement, poor planning, and a continued disregard for legal obligations to compromise the dignity, health, and education of South Africa’s children,” he said.

Last month, service providers raised the issue again, but payments were still not made in time.

The Department of Education blamed system errors for the problem. It said the Provincial Treasury is investigating why some invoices were left out. A special payment run was scheduled and the department hoped payments would reflect by Friday.

KwaZulu-Natal Premier Thami Ntuli told the provincial legislature on Wednesday that there was no crisis. He said the school nutrition programme had its own grant and money was available.

But service providers and schools say otherwise. Children have already gone without food and the damage has been done.

Pictured above: School Nutrition service providers in KwaZulu-Natal continue to suffer due to non-payment for food deliveries.

Image source: X