The National School Nutrition Programme is a vital lifeline for over nine million poor learners across the country.
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BUILD One South Africa (BOSA) has warned the government not to cut “a single cent” from school feeding schemes, citing a looming R358 million education budget shortfall in the Northern Cape as one of several threats to the National School Nutrition Programme (NSNP) ahead of the national Budget Speech on May 21.
The party emphasised that the NSNP is a critical lifeline for more than nine million poor learners across South Africa, many of whom rely on it for their only guaranteed meal each day.
BOSA acting spokesperson Roger Solomons urged Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana to ring-fence and increase funding for school feeding schemes, warning that red tape, corruption and fiscal mismanagement were already compromising the programme in multiple provinces.
“Across KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng, the Northern Cape and the Western Cape, food delivery to schools has been disrupted by a toxic mix of unpaid suppliers, contested tenders, and budget constraints,” said Solomons.
“Learners are already going hungry, and the situation is deteriorating.”
He pointed out that in KwaZulu-Natal, numerous service providers remain unpaid for March and April 2025, following last year’s R2 billion tender scandal that left more than 5,400 schools without meals and saw rotten food delivered to some. In Gauteng, over a million learners were impacted in 2024 due to delays in finalising a new contract for the NSNP.
“Legal wrangling over tenders continues to undermine meal delivery, with teachers reporting empty plates and hungry children, especially during winter,” said Solomons.
He noted that in the Northern Cape, a looming R358 million shortfall in the education budget poses a serious threat to the future of school feeding schemes, placing thousands of vulnerable learners at risk of going hungry. This is despite the province’s proactive steps to decentralise procurement in an effort to improve delivery.
Meanwhile, in the Western Cape, school meals continue for now, but a staggering R3.8 billion staffing shortfall and a 21% vacancy rate in education posts point to mounting fiscal pressure that could soon compromise the programme.
“Any government that allows children to go hungry while billions are spent on ministerial perks and luxury motorcades has lost its way,” said Solomons.
“BOSA rejects any Budget that sacrifices the health and dignity of poor children for the sake of austerity or patronage.”