President Cyril Ramaphosa’s announcement that local spaza shop owners must register their establishments has caused mixed reactions from the owners.
This follows a number of child fatalities that occurred after eating food reportedly purchased from spaza shops in Gauteng.
Sunday World visited a few spaza shops in Soweto on Tuesday. Some of the owners said that registering these businesses was a wise decision. However, others said they were perplexed because they were unsure of how the procedure operated.
Thembi Msomi, owner of Tembi’s spaza shop in Jabulani, said she has run her business for over 20 years. And it is registered.
Not a new thing
“Registering a spaza shop is not a new thing. Mine has been registered under my name for years now. It is helpful because you get professional advice on how to run a shop without putting people’s lives at risk,” said Msomi.
She further said she will go register the business under her granddaughter’s name because she is older now.
“Because of my age, I will be registering it under my granddaughter, as you saw that she is the one running it. The government needs to follow up on this and make sure that everyone complies. That can only be done if we have enough inspectors. Because the spaza shop industry is oversaturated,” she added.
Meanwhile, Mozambican national Donald Nhahia runs his brother’s spaza shop in Klipspruit in Soweto. He said they heard that they needed to register the shops. However, they do not know how.
Some operators in the dark about registration process
“There is not much information about these registrations. And 21 days is a short period for one for this process. Because spaza shops are in every corner of the townships,” said Nhahia.
According to Nhahia, who was busy selling breakfast items to his loyal customers, his brother opened a business in Soweto in 2008. And it has since expanded as he opened a branch in Boksburg.
“It is not business as usual, last week the inspectors came here. Their aim was …to check if the container was clean, expiry dates, and many other factors. They did not raise any issue because there are no rats, and all the goods are in good condition. And they said they would come back unannounced.”
Jabulani residents want to take over foreign-owned spaza shops
Meanwhile, some residents blocked the entrance of the Customer Service Centre in Jabulani. They were saying they do not want to see foreign spaza shop owners register.
This publication was informed by one of the locals that they want the foreign spaza owners to go.
The man who sells scones and muffins in the area stood outside the service centre. He said if the foreign spaza shop owners leave, they will occupy the shops.
“Why are they selling here? What happened to their homes? Another thing that has the community in arms is that they do not hire us. We are ready for those opportunities. If they leave, we will take over,” he said.
