South Africa’s townships – urban areas created for black people under apartheid – have long experienced problems with massive pest infestations and the selling of pesticides on the streets and in informal markets.
Street pesticides are poisonous substances that are legally registered for agricultural uses but are decanted illegally into unlabelled beverage bottles or packets for home use. Or they might be illegally packaged pesticides imported into South Africa and not registered for use.
The dangers of these substances have been in the news lately with the deaths of more than 20 children who were exposed to them. On 21 November the government announced a national disaster related to food-borne illnesses.
