"Prisons Get Better": Gauteng Learners' Food On R11bn National School Nutrition Programme Angers SA

• eNCA's Checkpoint investigated how discarded fryer oil called lalaza found its way into food served to Gauteng schoolchildren
• The oil, sourced from a black market linked to an Orange Farm supply chain, was reportedly traced back to Chicken Licken fryers
• South Africans were horrified by the footage, with many saying prisoners eat better than learners in the country

An eNCA investigative report has left South Africans outraged after revealing that children in Gauteng schools are reportedly being fed discarded fryer oil as a condiment. The government's multi-billion-rand National School Nutrition Programme allegedly provides subpar food to learners.

The exposé, on Checkpoint on Sundays, uncovered how a cooking sauce known as "lalaza" has been served alongside school meals, including samp and beans. The sauce is not a legitimate condiment. It is reused frying oil discarded from fast-food outlets.

According to the report, many learners rely on the sauce to stomach the meal provided through the government's R11 billion National School Nutrition Programme. The investigative team traced the supply of lalaza from Orange Farm, south of Johannesburg, all the way to what appears to be a black market network. Footage shows close-up shots of food served in bowls, as well as blurred surveillance-style footage filmed inside a fast-food restaurant.

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eNCA posted a preview clip on TikTok on 29 September 2026, and it quickly drew massive attention. Watch the Checkpoint investigation clip below:

SA government feeding scheme for kids sparks disbelief

The reaction points to a deeper concern shared by many South Africans: that the learners who depend most on the school nutrition programme, children from low-income communities, are being failed at the most basic level of care. South Africans flooded the comments with anger, disbelief, and dark humour:

@Ace said:

"Prisoners eat better than learners in this country BTW 😭😭🥀"

@Mister_B joked:

"I don't know about Lalaza, but the samp looks good 😂"

@ThabisoMduh asked:

"And prisons get better food?"

@Just_jay•° wrote:

"Yho, this government hates its people 😭"

@Blue blooded reflected:

"What happened to the peanut butter sandwich with a glass of milk, that the Apartheid government fed us at school? Sometimes it was jam sandwich"

@Tokelo 🎀 demanded answers:

"My question is who at Chicken Licken is selling this sauce to the children?"

Other Briefly News stories about high-level corruption cases

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• A group of 38 suspects, including several prominent pastors, school governing body members, and government officials, were granted bail totalling R1.6 million following their court appearance over a R114 million tender scandal.
• The Special Tribunal ordered the daughter and son-in-law of senior ANC politician Nomvula Mokonyane to repay R1.4 million in profits earned from an unlawful personal protective equipment (PPE) contract.
• The Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) arrested key suspects involved in a fraudulent Home Affairs scheme that issued authentic South African passports to foreign nationals for R100,000 each.

Source: Briefly News