Citizens urged to allow spaza shop owners to register for permits
Government has appealed to South Africans not to block those people who want to register their spaza shops.
This follows President Cyril Ramaphosa’s call for all spaza shops and food-handling facilities to register with their respective municipalities as part of decisive measures to address the recurring foodborne illnesses that have claimed the lives of children across the country.
The interventions, the President explained, include getting hazardous pesticides off the street, protecting children from exposure to these substances, and the prevention of future outbreaks.
To ensure compliance, the President ordered that all spaza shops and food-handling facilities must register with their respective municipalities within 21 days.
Speaking during a media briefing hosted by Ministers leading the multidisciplinary teams in government responsible for the national response to instances of foodborne illnesses, Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) Minister, Velenkosini Hlabisa, appealed to the people of South Africa not to take the law into their own hands.
“We know some of them might have seen something wrong being done by South Africans assisting foreign nationals to register the spaza shops, but our call and our request [is] let us not take the law into our hands,” Hlabisa said.
Hlabisa assured that the system was not going to allow a spaza shop to be operated by a foreign national, even if the spaza shop is registered by a South African and given to a foreign national to operate.
“A person whom we registered as the owner of a spaza shop, is the one who must operate the spaza shop. If a person opts to allow another person to operate his or her spaza shop, [they] will have to go back to the municipality and get the approval.
“That is why we are appealing to the law enforcement agencies to assist in dealing with those who want to take the law into their hands…but that must be the last thing to do,” Hlabisa said.
READ I Government simplifies the process to apply for spaza shop permits
Hlabisa maintained that the 21 days given to the owners to register their businesses is sufficient.
“It takes only one day to register a business [and] people must not wait until the last day to register. If you want to do it on day 21, you might have some outstanding documents and cannot register.
“Twenty-one days is enough, but the call is go and register your business today, not tomorrow, then you won’t have a problem in terms of 21 days…it will be done,” the Minister assured.
The government has introduced a new standard draft by-law for township economies, which offers a simplified permitting and registration process.
The move is aimed at creating an enabling environment for small businesses in townships and supports conomic inclusion, job creation and community empowerment.
The by-law was issued in accordance with the Local Government: Municipal Systems Act of 2000 by the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs on 7 November 2024.
Government establishing joint fund to support township, rural businesses
Work to establish a R500 million joint fund to support township and rural businesses – including local convenience shops – is underway.
This is according to Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development Thembi Simelane who briefed the media on interventions to mitigate the uptick in foodborne illnesses in South Africa.
She said the departments tasked with overseeing the joint fund are already hard at work drafting standard operating procedures and guidelines on the use and accountability of the fund.
This work is expected to be completed within the next two weeks.
“In the short term, approved rural and township businesses will be supported through this fund to improve their infrastructure, regulatory compliance and capacity building.
“The operational fund application and disbursement process will commence as soon as the registration process is completed and will be subjected to ongoing auditing processes as an early warning system against potential anomalies and fraudulent activities,” she said.
The Minister explained that to qualify for the fund, a business owner must, among others, be “a South African citizen operating within the borders of the country and serving local communities”.
“The business must be registered with local municipality in accordance with the relevant by-laws and have valid registration with SARS. Funding will prioritise entrepreneurs between the ages of 18 and 35 years old with much emphasis on female-owned businesses.
“The Department of Small Business Development has started a process to create a nerve centre with geo-mapping capacity to centralise data on the township and rural economy.
“A national database of registered small businesses and spaza shops will strengthen our capacity to regulate the sector and to ensure effective compliance to avoid the recurrence of future outbreaks,” she said.
Delving further into the issue of the registration of small businesses and spaza shops, Simelane emphasised that lawfully, “every shop owner who is a legitimate trader and meets the legal requirements” is allowed to conduct business.
“In processing these applications for registration, the government will make every effort to ensure that account is taken of every legal prescript that allows people to do business in the country,” she said.
Since the announcement by President Cyril Ramaphosa that all spaza shops must be registered within 21 days, reports have surfaced of South Africans registering these localised shops on behalf of illegal foreign nationals.
This, Simelane said, is a concern.
“This is clear fronting, and we would like to warn everyone who is involved in this illegal activity to stop. The Immigration Act prohibits any person from aiding, abetting, assisting or enabling an illegal foreigner to obtain a licence on his or her behalf, to conduct any business or carry on any profession or occupation.
“Landlords are obliged by law to ensure that those who rent their premises to conduct businesses, comply with the provisions of the Immigration Act and the standard by-laws regulating local business in the municipalities in which they operate,” she said.
Turning to allegations that civil servants are also involved in the fraudulent processing of registrations, Simelane warned that the law would take its course.
South Africans are urged not to interfere with spaza shop registrations.
“The law enforcement agencies will clamp down heavily on extortionists who want to use this process to enrich themselves. Members of the public are urged to report any suspected corrupt activities through the National Anti-Corruption Hotline 0800 701 701.
“We want to appeal to the members of the public not to disturb the process of registration by blocking certain shop owners from participating in the process. This includes conducting unlawful inspections by members of the public, and other unauthorised bodies,” she said.