‘Little to nothing’ done with R336m budgeted for ECD pilot nutrition programme since 2024
📰 Original article: https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-03-19-children-go-hungry-while-r336…
Fact-Check Results
“The Department of Basic Education’s ring-fenced budget for a pilot nutrition programme for early childhood development (ECD) centres appears to have gone largely unused over a two-year period”
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INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
— No evidence in archive to confirm budget utilization status
“Funding for the pilot programme was first set aside in the 2024/25 budget, standing at R197-million. This was increased to R336-million in 2025/26, with the most recent allocation in the 2026/27 budget going up to R772-million”
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INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
— No budget allocation data available in archive
“The existing ECD subsidy for registered centres was increased to R24 per child per day in 2025/26, with 40% of this amount earmarked for nutrition”
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INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
— No subsidy allocation details in archive
“Data from 2022/23 showed that only 40% of centres in South Africa were registered, and of that 40%, only 33% were reported to be receiving the subsidy”
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INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
— No registration/subsidy data available in archive
“In August 2024, the Real Reform for ECD movement flagged an effort by the DBE to subsume the funds for the pilot nutrition programme under a ten-year, R10-billion-a-year National School Nutrition Programme (NSNP) 'modernisation' tender”
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INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
— No information about DBE's NSNP tender proposal
“The plan to merge the ECD pilot programme with the NSNP tender ultimately fell by the wayside”
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INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
— No record of merger status in archive
“Concerns around the unused funds for the pilot programme are not new. In October 2025, the Union Against Hunger released a statement questioning the absence of an implementation plan”
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INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
— No Union Against Hunger statement documentation
“In February 2026, President Cyril Ramaphosa committed to ending stunting by 2030 in his State of the Nation Address”
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INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
— No State of the Nation Address content available
“Daily Maverick reached out to the Department of Basic Education with questions around the implementation of its pilot nutrition programme but did not receive a response”
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INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
— No response record from Department of Basic Education
“Ntuli’s ECD centres are conditionally registered, which means she has access to the early learning subsidy”
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INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
— No information about Ntuli's centre registration status
“Mantjé noted that a successful model for an ECD pilot nutrition programme could draw lessons from the National Schools Nutrition Programme, but could not be a 'one-size-fits-all' solution”
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PENDING