KUTUMELA MOLEFI PRIMARY SGB PREVENTS VENDORS FROM SELLING FOOD AT THE SCHOOL

Aggrieved vendors who sell food at the Kutumela Molefi Primary School say Tshwane District Education officials, together with members of the school’s governing body (SGB) are preventing them from selling food and other items to learners at the school.

The school is situated in the Far East of Mamelodi.

They say they have been selling food at the school all along but their problems started in October 2024, when they were kicked out of the school premises by by members of the SGB and the district Education authorities and told to “wait for further notice” regarding their status as vendors at the school.

Evelyn Manaka of Lethabong told Tshwane Talks that she has been selling food to learners at the school since 2021 but after food poisoning incidents were reported at various schools countrywide, their vending activities were cancelled at Kutumela Molefi Primary School.

“We have been sitting idle at home without any income until we heard that the district officials have made an announcement on 17 February this year that all vendors may go back to the schools they have been working at previously and resume their vending activities, but upon our arrival here at Kutumela Molefi Primary we were prevented from selling our stuff to learners, and we have not been given a reason for this,” said Manaka.

She explained that she and her fellow vendors have certificates of compliance which they obtained from the City of Tshwane health officials for a fee.

The permanent compliance certificate costs R1008, while the temporary one costs R577, 50c.

“These compliance certificates have been of no benefit to us as we have never been able to use them,” she said.

She lamented the fact that at the moment she hasn’t had any income since 2024 and that she is dependent on the food-vending business to provide her family with all their needs including groceries and school stationary and uniforms.

Manaka said she has six dependents who look up to her for survival.

She said the Tshwane Metro Police were called in to come and chase them away from the school fence after telling them that they (vendors) have no right to sell food even outside, on the fence of the school.

“The Metro Police did this even though we showed them our compliance certificates from the City of Tshwane, which actually allow us to sell our stuff inside the school’s premises,” she said.

Manaka pointed out that school learners have apparently been influenced by the Kutumela Molefi school authorities to no longer buy any items from them.

“We are asking the Department of Education to reinstate us as vendors at the school because we are breadwinners in our families,” lamented Manaka.

“I have been badly-affected by the school’s decision to stop us from selling our stuff there because at the moment I can’t afford to do anything for my kids and I am really struggling indeed,” said Sophie Tshabalala, who also used to sell food inside the school’s premises but now sells from the fence that surrounds the school.

Annah Moyo complained that for a living she depends on the money she earns from selling food at the school and it is terrible that they as vendors have to carry their stock back home every day as it is no longer bought by the learners.

“We can no longer even afford to make R100 contributions to the stokvel that we as women used to have because we no longer have any income to speak of,” explained Moyo.

” We have heard reports that some teachers run businesses like selling ice-cream, pens and pencils inside the school premises and this leads to a situation whereby learners spend all their money on the businesses run by teachers, and are left with no money to support our budinesses when they leave the school premises,” lamented Moyo.

Another vendor complained that there is a security guy at the school who besides being employed as a security guard, also works to sell food and items to learners inside the school premises of Kutumela Molefi Primary.

“This guy gets paid by the government to work as a security official and he is also a member of the SGB yet on top of that he sells items inside the school premises,” lamented the vendor.

She said the cleaner at the school is also involved in “double employment” because besides being a cleaner and getting paid by the government, she also sells items at the school, thus taking business away from us who depend only on one job, which is to sell items at the school,” she lamented.

Freddy Mosese, who works with problems plague the community at large, told Tshwane Talks that the principal promised to reinstate the vendors but that this was doubtful now because the principal no longer answers telephone calls coming from him.

He said the vendors must be reinstated on Monday to resume their vending activities at the school and if the principal calls on the Tshwane Metro Police Department (TMPD) officers to arrest the vendors, then the TMPD will have to arrest me first,” he said.

“I have been brainwashed by the principal all along into thinking that he has the interests of the vendors at heart, but that is clearly not the case,” fumed Mosese.

“I will fight for the reinstatement of these vendors with everything that is in my power; I will take stern action against CPF members who sell items inside the school premises; I will take action against teachers who sell ice-cream inside the school premises and I would like to appeal to the principal to reinstate them with immediate effect irrespective of what the SGB is saying” said Mosese.

“These women vendors have certificates of compliance to sell items at Kutumela Molefi Primary School as approved by the Department of Education and their reinstatement has got nothing to do with the SGB or the principal,” enthused Mosese.

Meanwhile, it has come to the attention of Tshwane Talks that the issue of refusing to reinstate vendors is rife at various schools around Mamelodi, including Mamelodi High School, Solomon Mahlangu Freedom School ( SOMAFCO) and Boikgantsho Primary School.

Meanwhile, Gauteng Department of Education Spokesperson Steve Mabona, apparently due to ignorance that the vendors are compliant as they have certificates to show that they have permission to sell their items st the school, said the following:

“We confirm that we are investigating issues surrounding this serious matter and all vendors must comply with the set regulations because no one must be allowed to operate at our schools if they don’t comply.”