In Conversation with Hendrick Makaneta - COPE Condemns McDonald’s Branded Desks in Schools, Calls for Immediate Removal

The Congress of the People (COPE) has strongly criticized
the Department of Basic Education’s partnership with
McDonald’s, which saw the fast-food corporation donate
foldable plastic desks to Grade 1 learners in the Eastern
Cape. COPE, along with civil society groups, has raised
concerns over what it describes as a dangerous precedent
of corporate branding infiltrating public education. The
party argues that these desks, while addressing
infrastructure shortages, exploit vulnerable children as
marketing tools for a company associated with unhealthy
eating habits. Citing the country’s growing obesity crisis,
COPE condemned the initiative as a form of “predatory
marketing” and accused the government of allowing private
corporations to fill gaps left by inadequate state funding.
In a firm statement, COPE demanded that the government
recall the branded desks and take full responsibility for
providing dignified, unbranded school furniture. The party
called on National Treasury to reinvest in education to
prevent similar corporate encroachments, emphasizing that
learning spaces should remain free from commercial
influence. It further demanded accountability from Basic
Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube, criticizing what it
described as a failure of governance and austerity-driven
neglect. While Gwarube defended the initiative, stating that
the desks were endorsed by UNESCO, COPE and other
public figures, including Mmusi Maimane, continue to push
for an urgent policy shift to safeguard children’s learning
environments from corporate interests.