Latest news with #Gumede
Daily Maverick
10-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Maverick
Advocates push for unified labels to curb food waste and combat SA's hunger crisis
A unified label would eliminate consumer confusion, reduce needless food waste and simplify compliance for the industry. It is estimated that up to 31% of the country's food production is lost or wasted each year, while millions of South Africans go hungry. Food losses and waste happen at different stages of the food supply chain, from production and distribution to consumption and disposal. There have been growing calls to rework policies to help reduce waste, whether it be through incentivising the donation of goods to food recollection organisations, or educating the consumer on responsible consumption. JX & Co, a food advocacy company, is petitioning for unified and clearer food labels, specifically expiry dates, to curb food waste. In its petition it writes: 'We found that inconsistent expiry labels 'Best Before', 'Use By' and the unregulated 'Sell By' fuel confusion and waste in South African homes, which discard over R10-billion worth of edible food each year. That same confusion widens the gap between surplus and access, exacerbating food insecurity and petitioning the National Regulator for compulsory specifications and the South African Bureau of Standards to adopt one clear, standardised mark: Safe to Eat Until [DD MM YYYY]. This simple change could halve household food loss while ensuring safer, more equitable access to nutrition,' the petition reads. Daily Maverick interviewed JX Gumede who is spearheading this call at his Salt Rock home on the North Coast of KwaZulu-Natal. Gumede is a food justice advocate and an AI ethicist. When asked why he chose this campaign specifically he said that food labelling was one of the points at which we could make meaningful changes in food waste. 'Labelling offers a very good entry point, because with labelling it is a policy. And once you've got the policy, you then create a bottleneck for manufacturers and producers to have to get through that policy constraint in order to be able to access the market.' Gumede said that although household waste was not the biggest food loss point of weakness, curbing food waste there could make a difference. 'Second to processing is retail, together with household consumption that contribute greatly to food loss and waste,' said Gumede. 'So I'm mixing retail and household consumption as one because the consumer is engaging the label at the store and is engaging the label at home in their fridge. So that's why I'm grouping it as one thing. And it is a significant part of food wastage, to the extent that it's in the region of about 20% of all food wasted comes from this confusion around food waste. A total of 1.6 to 1.8 million tons is wasted at household level. About 600,000 is wasted at retail level. So you're talking about more than two million tons,' said Gumede. 'It's not just labels (that contribute to food loss and waste), but labels make a big part of that. Because a very clear example is that if you look at a label and you don't understand it, research proves empirically that food labels create confusion. Due to the confusion created by food labels, there's wastage,' Gumede said. Gumede said South Africa was not the only country facing this issue. 'There are certain countries also looking at having a unified label. Some countries have more than 20 different labels on food items. Can you imagine trying to decipher what they actually mean beyond what you assume they mean? Sell-by date 'The sell-by date is a date that is useful for the retailer to rotate their stock. So it's basically giving the retailer a heads-up on when that item more or less should be off their shelves. 'Hence, even for this retailer, they remove it on the sell-by date. It doesn't mean the item is unsafe. It just tells you it should be a good idea, and it is a recommendation and suggestion that this item be sold and all off the shelf by (for example) 12 September. 'Now all of these dates, including sell by, use by, and best by, all of them have got a margin of safety. In other words, none of them has a date where the food or the item expires at 12 o'clock or at one minute past 12, it's now inedible. These are suggestive parameters, what they buffer. 'Consumers look at the date, they see the date, they grab the item, they remind themselves that the date has come, and even if it's a day or two and in the bin it goes. They don't do any sensory tests like, does it smell off? And I'm not recommending people should be relying on sensory tests for their safety, but I am saying common sense should prevail,' said Gumede. 'Our petition and the campaign we are driving is of one label, and label along the lines of 'safe to eat until' — that's it. Cuts out the confusion and the misunderstanding and optimal this and optimal that — safe to eat until. One label.' Experts have proposed interventions such as supporting sustainable agricultural practices, improved storage facilities and efficient distribution systems. Reducing food loss and waste at the source, from farm to fork, is both cost effective and environmentally responsible. The draft food loss strategy states that: 'The interventions include behaviour change through education: central to the success of this strategy is changing consumer behaviour. It is essential to raise awareness about the consequences of food waste and the importance of responsible consumption. 'Partnerships: collaboration with various stakeholders, including government agencies, food producers, retailers and NGOs is crucial to implementing effective food waste reduction initiatives.' Gumede says he isn't discounting the food safety issues that caused the stringent laws and methods retailers use. 'I'm not promoting the selling of any food item, whether it's within the expiry date or not, that is spoiled and is not safe for human consumption.' Gumede was a commercial farmer and also studied philosophy and ethics, which led to his current role as an AI ethicist, specifically within food justice. He will be a speaker at the the 7th annual Food Indaba this weekend. The indaba began on 7 July 2025 and will end on 20 July, under the theme ' Artificial Intelligence and the Food System '. 'I understand that in order to not get into the issues of maybe, maybe not in terms of food safety they would rather bin it than donate the food, or even make it available beyond that date, which then calls on us to question whether our policies incentivise people, retailers in particular, to still offer that food at a discounted rate after its best buy date. There are countries where there are certain provisions to help retailers sell food,' said Gumede. 'In South Africa, we don't have any loopholes. There's no leeway. There's no accommodation yet we have the highest inequality levels in the world. We also have one of the highest wastage per person of any country in the world. So the fact that we selectively employ highly restrictive food safety standards in a country where nearly a quarter of South Africans go to bed without food, those are positions that I cannot readily reconcile,' he said.
IOL News
10-07-2025
- Health
- IOL News
Health bodies urge implementation of report on racial bias in medical aid schemes
The fight for fair treatment of healthcare providers is far from over. Image: File Several years in the making, the fight for justice in South Africa's healthcare sector is far from over. Health bodies say the real test now lies in the implementation of key recommendations from a landmark report, which found that black healthcare providers were unfairly targeted by medical schemes often having their claims withheld based on race and ethnicity. Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi received the final report from the Section 59 Investigation Panel on Monday. The investigation, commissioned in 2019, examined allegations of racial discrimination and procedural unfairness in the application of Fraud, Waste and Abuse (FWA) processes by major schemes and administrators, including Discovery Health, Medscheme, the Government Employees Medical Scheme (GEMS). Covering the period from 2012 to 2019, the Panel reviewed statistical and testimonial evidence and found that black providers were disproportionately flagged, audited, or penalised through opaque FWA systems. The report also detailed serious procedural shortcomings. These include failure to notify providers of alleged irregularities within a reasonable timeframe, audits that stretch back more than three years, the use of non-transparent algorithms and risk-rating tools, and the absence of independent mediation or effective appeal mechanisms. National Health Care Professionals Association (NHCPA) chairperson Dr Donald Gumede, who was among the complainants in the matter, welcomed the release of the report. 'We are very excited that the final report has finally come to light,' said Gumede. 'What's critical now is the implementation because the report, at the end of the day, is just a document with recommendations. It's what happens next that matters.' He welcomed the proposal for a tribunal, saying: 'There needs to be a proper system in place to regulate the entire healthcare chain. Right now, medical aid schemes operate like a law unto themselves. They are not accountable to anyone and they've destroyed many lives.' Gumede added that they still receive complaints from healthcare professionals and acknowledged that reaching this point had been no easy feat. The South African Medical Association (Sama) welcomed the release of the long-awaited final report and said it had been an active participant throughout the inquiry process. 'The Report validates what many of our members have endured for years: racially skewed targeting, opaque algorithms, and Kafkaesque audit processes,' said Sama chairperson, Dr Mvuyisi Mzukwa. 'Sama has zero tolerance for any form of racial discrimination. Our members have a right to fair treatment, regardless of their race, and patients deserve a health system built on equity and accountability. We urge all medical schemes to act decisively and transparently. South Africa cannot tolerate discrimination masquerading as fraud control. Sama stands ready to work with all stakeholders to restore fairness, trust and accountability in our healthcare financing system.' Sama said they supported the panel's call for urgent remedial action; legislative, regulatory, and operational, to eliminate discrimination and ensure fairness. 'The association has called on the Council for Medical Schemes (CMS) to publish an implementation roadmap within 60 days; on medical schemes and administrators to institute a moratorium on recoveries for claims older than three years until updated rules are adopted; and on the National Department of Health to accelerate long-overdue amendments to the Medical Schemes Act that would require algorithmic transparency and the establishment of independent dispute-resolution mechanisms.' Discovery, Medscheme and the CMS did not respond to requests for comment by deadline. Cape Times
The Citizen
04-07-2025
- Business
- The Citizen
uMhlathuze workers' strike suspended pending negotiations
REFUSE collection across the City of uMhlathuze has resumed amid a temporary suspension of the strike by members affiliated to the South African Municipal Workers' Union (Samwu). The temporary halt to the industrial action comes after more than two weeks of striking, bringing service delivery in the city to its knees. ALSO READ: City of uMhlathuze loses bid to stop workers' strike According to Samwu Shonamalanga Regional Secretary Zandile Gumede, the strike is suspended pending negotiations with the municipality, which the union said are set to take place on Tuesday. 'We met with the city management this morning [Friday], and workers are back at work until Tuesday, when we resume where we left off with our negotiations,' said Gumede. This development comes after the city on Thursday failed in its attempt to obtain an interdict against striking workers. Read the full story in the ZO on Monday. Don't have the ZO app? Download it to your Android or Apple device here: HAVE YOUR SAY Like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter. For news straight to your phone invite us: WhatsApp – 060 784 2695 Instagram – zululand_observer At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
The Star
02-07-2025
- Business
- The Star
What's holding back South Africa's economy? Key insights from experts
Failing infrastructure, systemic corruption, collapsed rule of law, state incapacity in public service and state-owned entities, erosion of local government, and high crime rates are among the key factors causing a decline in South Africa's economic growth, according to experts. This is despite the positive growth from the agricultural sector, where the Gross Value Added (GVA) expanded by 15.8% in the first quarter of 2025. Agriculture became the main driver of South Africa's overall GDP growth in Q1 2025, contributing 0.4 percentage points to the national GDP expansion of 0.1%. However, experts say that agriculture, although it has driven the country's economic growth, is volatile and dependent on factors such as weather, electricity supply, and transportation, among others. Professor William Gumede, from the Wits School of Governance, said the country's political culture has made corruption, incompetence, and misbehaviour acceptable if it is done by those who share a similar colour, party, and ideology, which has contributed to the economic decline. 'Property rights are vulnerable. The rule of law in many parts has collapsed, the lower courts are inefficient, and policing is ineffective. Corruption is systemic. State capacity in many parts of the public services, among state-owned entities, and local government has been eroded. Crime is out of control. The state cannot efficiently enforce laws, rules, or policies. Infrastructure has collapsed in many areas. Many sectors of the economy, such as public transport, mining, and construction, have become informalised. The country has been deindustrialising,' Gumede said. He added that state infrastructure development plans and forums, including the Reconstruction and Recovery Plan and initiatives such as Operation Vulindlela, have become virtual talk shops, and structures set up to play an oversight and coordination role, and provide governance over infrastructure, have not been able to do so. 'The breakdown of infrastructure drives up inflation, just as state, SOE, and policy failures do, as they drive up prices, the cost of living, cost of business, and erode savings and deter future investment. The Reserve Bank has warned that the breakdown in infrastructure threatens the stability of the financial system. 'Loadshedding, for example, has caused not only the loss of lives, but also of businesses, capital, skills, employment, and investment. It has contributed to South Africa's low-growth path, possibly taking away up to 3% of possible growth. South Africa needs around R150 billion per year just to replace the destroyed infrastructure, let alone build new infrastructure,' Gumede said. He added that water provision has also plunged, with many of the water infrastructure SOEs, municipal entities, and boards having fallen into disarray. The provision of water in many of South Africa's cities and towns has deteriorated to such an extent that many citizens are without water for long periods during water outages. 'Transnet, the state-owned logistics giant responsible for South Africa's ports, rail, and pipelines, is, like Eskom, a major contributor to the country's low-growth path. Transnet has a debt burden of R136 billion. Its inefficiencies are causing bottlenecks at ports and limiting rail freight, undermining trade. It costs the economy over R1 billion per day," Gumede said. Transnet estimates it needs to invest R200 billion to restore the railways to capacity, however, Gumede said i t will be a waste of money to invest in Transnet without bringing in merit-based management, cleaning up procurement by exempting the organisation from preferential procurement rules, and discarding ideological objections to having the organisation fully partner with the private sector in delivering infrastructure services. According to the Department of Public Enterprises, between 2012 and 2023, the debt levels of the largest 10 SOEs rose by R313.6 billion. The government had to bail out these SOEs with R318.1 billion during that period. In its latest Financial Stability Review, the Reserve Bank said while electricity availability appears to be gradually returning to historical trends, other critical infrastructure, such as the supply and quality of water and transport infrastructure, especially rail, port, and road networks, continues to degrade. Gumede said an external economic shock, such as a prolonged fallout with the US Donald Trump administration, will have a disproportionately debilitating impact on the South African economy. Political actors and groups who reckon South Africa can quickly pivot from the US market to alternatives, such as BRICS, have a case of wishful thinking, as a loss of the US market cannot be immediately replaced. A transition to new markets cannot be achieved overnight. Worse, SA's state trade negotiation capacity is currently possibly at its weakest, most over-ideological, least agile, and opportunity-minded, since the end of apartheid. State capacity has been eroded in state trade structures, as in other parts of the state, through cadre deployment, exclusion of minorities, and informalisation, he said. China may be South Africa's largest trading partner by volume, but it mostly takes South Africa's raw material, not manufactured products – it has trade barriers, but sends manufactured products to South Africa, which displaces local jobs. US companies manufacture in South Africa, meaning they have larger multiplier impacts, Gumede said. The International Monetary Fund ranks South Africa as the most difficult place to do business globally among 49 countries in the IMF's ease of doing business index. It argues that halving SA's restrictive business regulations relative to its emerging market peers could increase medium-run output by 9% and boost employment, Gumede said. He added that policymakers underestimate the impact of state failure, corruption, incompetence, and anti-growth policies on the economy, which reduces revenue and undermines business confidence. In the 1990s, the Johannesburg Stock Exchange had around 850 listed companies. By 2024, this had dropped to under 300, including some companies that have dual listings. He highlighted the lack of inclusive compromises on key policies, the NHI, the Expropriation Law, apparent refusal to renegotiate aspects of the Basic Education Laws Amendment (BELA) Bill to make it more inclusive, and perceived anti-American foreign policies have caused investment, capital, and skills flight as some of the factors. 'Many ANC politicians do not genuinely think growth should be at the centre of economic policy, arguing wrongly that to do so will be promoting 'neo-liberalism'. Policies that undermine growth will have to be jettisoned,' Gumede said. He said state debt levels need to be brought down, and key catalytic growth sectors will have to be prioritised. 'Manufacturing remains important; its declining trend needs to be reversed. Agriculture is critical. It is important that land reform is not populist, emotional, ideological and revenge-driven, but rather, that it focuses on securing food; fostering an agricultural, manufacturing, processing, and technology industrial hub; and fostering related artisan, technical, and research skills. This would mean partnering with the private sector to bring back artisan programmes, agricultural technical institutions – especially in the rural areas – and fostering agriculture technology,' he said. Dawie Roodt, a chief economist at the Efficient Group, said the biggest challenge in South Africa is a government that is destructive, inefficient, and is quite often corrupt. 'The government policies are broadly wrong. The Expropriation Bill, for example, is one of those policy choices that is wrong for economic growth because you must protect private property rights. There's also the inefficiency of the state. 'All good things go together in the economy. If per capita GDP goes up, then life expectancy, quality of life, and education follow suit,' Roodt said. He added that it is wrong to point out the three triple challenges of poverty, inequality, and unemployment. The emphasis must be on economic growth and unemployment or employment with jobs to look after themselves. 'Poverty in itself is not the problem. The problem is that we do not have enough rich people. The emphasis must be on creating more wealth. Now we've got all this emphasis and so-called job creation and trying to end poverty, while the emphasis must be on economic growth. Professor Sipho Seepe, a political analyst from the University of Zululand, said the government's role is to set a policy environment that enables investor confidence, whether domestic or foreign. 'Unfortunately, the ANC has been a party that is unable to take one position, and it hides under the notion of being a broad church. That means that it is a party faced with many persuasions. And when you want to invest, the fact that there are so many tendencies pulling you from different directions does not give you a sense of guarantee, and that has been the problem of investors. 'The second challenge that the investors have is the capacity of the state. When you have a state that is unable to do the bare minimum services, then you can't invest in that country. You take a case of crime. If you have a crime-ridden country, and you have a state that appears to be incapacitated and unable to stem the tide of crime. Investors worry about that,' Seepe said. He added that most of the legislation people think is a problem is misunderstood. [email protected]
News24
01-07-2025
- News24
eThekwini municipality's supply chain management head appointment challenged
Former eThekwini mayor Zandile Gumede's co-accused and dismissed deputy head of supply chain management, Sandile Ngcobo.
