Fin24 reports that according to a response from the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Senzeni Zokwana, to a parliamentary question, government cannot guarantee that the listeriosis outbreak won’t lead to job losses.  

Democratic Alliance (DA) MP Thembekile Majola asked about the economic impact of the outbreak.  Zokwana said his department had not taken direct steps to limit potential job losses as a result of the outbreak, but it was working with the Department of Health and the Department of Trade and Industry to address the outbreak.  “The outbreak and subsequent spreading of listeriosis contamination will likely not lead to short-term job losses.  However, if they end up having to close the factory altogether, that will have an impact on jobs,” said Zokwana.  He added that the economic impact of the disease had not yet been documented, but “the cost of eradicating the listeriosis would (likely) be substantial.”  This would be the case if the source of the outbreak was water, an abattoir or a food processing plant.  “If an abattoir has to be closed, it will impact employment,” Zokwana had previously advised.

• Read this report by Lameez Omarjee in full at Fin24

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