Mayor of Emalahleni Local Municipality in the streets to see that by-laws are being implemented
Expired foods and unhygienic practices discovered during the mayor’s operation
The Executive Mayor of Emalahleni Local Municipality, Cllr Conny Nkalitshana took to the streets of Thubelihle and Ackerville during the launch of Operations Khokha, Hlanzeka and Ziveze.
On Friday, March 11 and Saturday, March 12 this was part of monitoring compliance of businesses and residents with municipal by-laws as part of her commitment for the first 100-days in the office.
Dozens of expired food products, including tinned food, baby food, vegetables and snacks were discovered during the random inspection in tuck shops around Thubelihle and Ackerville.
“This is a major concern as it poses a serious health threat to communities who rely on these shops for their daily needs. The main culprits were foreign-owned shops who were found to not have valid operating documents and some of them are illegal in the country. A couple of these shops were closed down during the inspection,” said Nkalitshana.
Another health risk that the team discovered was the unhygienic practices by many of the shop owners when it came to safe housekeeping of food from hazardous items like mentholated spirits and paraffin.
Most of the shops did not have running water and in one instance in Ackerville, a toilet and a bed were found in the same space where food is stored.
Unsealed fire extinguishers were also discovered which is in contravention of by-laws on maintaining fire extinguishers which says they must be maintained following the requirements of the Occupational Health and Safety Regulations.
The mayor has warned communities on the consumption of food items from tuck shops and urged them to inspect the items before use or feeding them to children.
“This is a promise that we will keep – clamping down on all businesses that are not complying with the municipal by-laws,” Nkalitshana concluded.
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