Tragedy in North West as 8-year-old girl dies after eating snacks, govt calls for spaza shop accountability
Tragedy in North West as 8-year-old girl dies after eating snacks, govt calls for spaza shop accountability! An eight-year-old girl from Ramosadi village near Mahikeng, in the North West province, died on Friday, April 11, after allegedly consuming snacks purchased from a house in the area, according to provincial police.
North West police spokesperson, Colonel Adele Myburgh, confirmed that officers were called to a local clinic after the child tragically passed away.
“It is alleged that the girl and her 10-year-old sister started complaining about stomach aches at school at about 9:30 am,” said Myburgh.
Teachers quickly responded to the emergency, transporting the siblings to a nearby clinic for urgent medical attention. Sadly, the eight-year-old succumbed to her symptoms later that afternoon. Her older sister, aged 10, was admitted to a local hospital and remains under medical observation.
Girl dies after eating snacks
Police Investigate Possible Food Poisoning
Initial investigations suggest that both girls had bought snacks from a house in the village shortly before they started experiencing stomach pain. While the exact cause of illness is still to be confirmed, suspicions point to potential food poisoning.
Colonel Myburgh noted that Mmabatho police have opened an inquest docket into the child’s death, and that investigations are still underway. Police are expected to analyze the contents of the snacks as well as examine the source from which they were purchased.
“Police investigations are continuing,” Myburgh added.
Government Urges Action Against Illegal Operators
The tragic incident comes amid growing concern over food safety in informal shops and spaza stores across South Africa, particularly in townships and rural areas. Authorities have urged South African-born spaza shop owners to stop leasing their businesses to undocumented foreign nationals who may not comply with national food safety standards.
Last Wednesday, Ministers Parks Tau (Trade, Industry, and Competition) and Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams (Small Business Development) unveiled the R500 million Spaza Shop Support Fund at Eyethu Shopping Centre in Soweto. The initiative is designed to empower legitimate, locally owned businesses with training, skills development, and financial aid.
“It would be a futile exercise should qualifying South Africans continue to act as fronts for illegal immigrants who run spaza shops leased to them by irresponsible South Africans,” said Minister Ndabeni-Abrahams.
Spaza Fund to Support Safe Business Practices
The fund is jointly managed by the National Empowerment Fund and the Small Enterprise Finance Agency. It offers a R50,000 support package to qualifying township-based businesses, subject to strict eligibility criteria. Business owners were previously instructed to register their shops before February 28, as part of efforts to regulate the informal retail sector.
Abrahams emphasized that this is not a xenophobic initiative, but a constitutional step towards ensuring legal compliance and safety for consumers.
“Out of the more than 87,000 registered spaza shops in the country, only 53% of those are owned by South Africans. We must use the law to bring transformation,” she added.
As investigations continue into the young girl’s death, the government hopes that tighter regulations and local business support will help prevent similar tragedies in the future.
