Statement on the SAHRC National Investigative Hearing into the Food Systems of South Africa

The hungermongers must account for violating the constitutional right to food

The Union Against Hunger congratulates the SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) for the serious manner in which it has conducted the National Investigative Hearing into the Food Systems of South Africa so far. 

We are pleased that those with power over the food system, and therefore whether people live or die, are being ordered by the SAHRC to take the hearings seriously. 

In particular, we welcome:

• The SAHRC’s insistence that government Ministers attend in person and answer questions.
• The decision of the SAHRC to use its constitutional power to summon SA’s major food retailers and food manufacturers (ten, we believe) to make written and oral submissions. This is in the face of a de facto boycott of the hearings by retailers like Shoprite, Pick N Pay and manufacturers like Tiger Brands, who have not made written submissions despite the stranglehold they have over the food system. 

Civil society steps up, but most media are MIA

In the first three days, a range of civil society organisations have testified powerfully about the hunger that ravages our communities (see here, here, here). The SAHRC has also heard substantial expert evidence about SA’s food systems and how they are failing the poor.

In this context, it disappoints us how little interest the media is showing in reporting on the hearings. 

One in four people in South Africa experiences hunger, yet the media barely reports on the very inquiry investigating why. Hunger is a national emergency, and it deserves the same attention as any other crisis affecting our democracy.

A presentation by Stats SA confirmed how hunger affects 25% of our population. Corruption and greed in the food system are as rife as in the SAPS and literally kill. Yet the media can give saturation coverage to the Madlanga Commission, and no coverage to the SAHRC food inquiry. The hearings are an opportunity for the media to learn and report on this critical issue.

The Union Against Hunger will continue to attend, present and monitor the hearings on a daily basis. But in addition:

• We call on all civil society organisations to attend the last day of the hearings on Friday, 20th March, to show your support for action to advance the right to food.
• The media to attend that day to witness and hear from civil society members, including an important presentation by the Universal Basic Income Grant coalition, SECTION27 and then the Minister of Social Development.

This is a timely moment to reflect on the struggle for bread and butter issues.

March is human rights month in SA, and this Saturday, 21 March, is Human Rights Day. Access to sufficient food is a right on which all other rights depend. The legitimacy of our democracy depends on achieving it.