Note to Editors: You can download sound clips in English and Afrikaans from Dr Vicky Knoetze MPL
Premier Oscar Mabuyane must act against Social Development MEC Bukiwe Fanta, who was entrusted with addressing child malnutrition in the Eastern Cape and failed to act with urgency. Seventy children have already died of hunger this year. That toll is intolerable, and it demands accountability.
The hunger crisis in the Eastern Cape is not an isolated failure. It is a direct result of the province’s unemployment crisis. The official unemployment rate for the province is 39.3%, with an expanded unemployment rate of 49%. When nearly half of your population cannot find work, it is not surprising that families are starving.
When people cannot work, they cannot earn a living. When there is no income, there is no food on the table. The result is stripped dignity in households across the province and, tragically, the deaths of children.
In 2023, the South African Human Rights Commission confirmed that over 1,000 children in the province presented with Severe Acute Malnutrition in a single year and that 116 of them died. It recommended urgent steps, including declaring a provincial disaster and establishing a war room to coordinate interventions.
Two years later, we are faced with yet another shocking death toll. This time, the responsibility lies squarely at the feet of MEC Fanta, whose department failed to deliver even the basics. In the first three months of 2025, the Department of Social Development managed to distribute only nine food parcels across the entire province, while families buried their children.
While MEC Fanta’s failures are immediate and undeniable, responsibility also lies with the Premier. He cannot allow a member of his executive to preside over preventable child deaths and remain in office. He must remove MEC Fanta without delay.
Premier Mabuyane’s duty does not end there. If he is serious about tackling hunger, he must treat the unemployment crisis with the urgency it deserves. Families need jobs, not promises. Until people can earn a living, children will remain at risk.
The Democratic Alliance will hold both MEC Fanta and the Premier to account. It is time for decisive action. The Premier must remove MEC Fanta, address the unemployment crisis, and restore dignity to the people of the Eastern Cape.