By Thys Khiba – Pacina Retail has denied that it has pulled out of its KwaZuluNatal National School Nutrition Programme (NSNP) contract with the provincial department of education.
“We understand the concerns of the public and want to clarify that the infancy glitches experienced due to logistical challenges during the first two days of the Programme were quickly resolved and did not ‘collapse’ the programme,” said Pacina Retail in a statement.
This comes after the Education MEC Mbali Frazer confirmed to the media on Wednesday that they had parted ways with the company that won KwaZulu Natal school feeding scheme tender.
The African National Congress (ANC) in KZN criticised the programme’s failure to provide fresh, daily meals for learners.
The governing party provincial secretary Bheki Mtolo said concerned residents have spoken about problems associated with the NSNP in the province.
The company claims that the contract remains in place and indicated that they have not delivered rotten food.
“Pacina wants to put on record the issue of payments made to it and emphasise that we have not received a single payment in any amount from the Department, in fact we had to self-fund the Programme from inception to date.”
The province is the largest recipient of the NSNP with a budget of more than R2 billion to cover to about 2.4 million learners across 5 400 schools in KZN.
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