CRYING SHAME: ECD nutrition tender postponed eight times as Eastern Cape children wait for food
The closing date for a Department of Basic Education tender for the implementation of an early childhood development pilot nutrition programme has been extended eight times over the past seven months, igniting a call for accelerated action among civil society groups in the sector.
The Department of Basic Education's tender for an early childhood development (ECD) pilot nutrition programme, aimed at feeding 26,620 children at 1,035 entry-level ECD centres in the Eastern Cape, has been postponed eight times over the past seven months. The latest closing date for the contract is 23 October 2025. This pilot programme, funded at a total of R772-million in the 2026/27 budget, is intended to provide much-needed nutrition to centres that do not currently receive the department's ECD subsidy of R24 per child per day.
Civil society groups have expressed concern over the repeated delays, with Tshepo Mantjé, ECD coordinator with the Equality Collective and Real Reform for ECD, stating that the department's failure to spend funds could result in them being surrendered to the National Revenue Fund.
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