Scores of business owners from Potchefstroom and Ventersdorp in the North West marched to the JB Marks Local Municipality on Tuesday, demanding the municipality register them to open spaza shops.
The group said the municipality was dragging its feet and wanted a lot of money for its spaza shops.
Spaza shop owners have till Friday to meet President Cyril Ramaphosa’s deadline to register their businesses and regulate the sector.
Marching under the banner of Ikageng Ventersdorp United Stakeholders Association (IVUSA), the group says the municipality must help them meet the deadline.
Suku Modise, 59, of Makweteng, outside Ventersdorp, said he sought a business license in Ventersdorp several years ago.
Frustrated residents say municipality demands money they can’t afford
“They gave me the requirement and need analyses documents. But they have not responded to my application, the municipality has frustrated me,” he said.
Modise paid R600 for registration at the municipality. But he was told he needed to produce a building plan because the township where he wanted the spaza shop to operate was an old township.
“They said because the area where I stay is old, they do not have a building plan. And that I must look for an architecture. The architect I found wants me to give him R4,500, that is a lot of money for me. I could buy stock with that money for a spaza shop. Where do they think I will get that money,” said Modise.
The group said the town should also extend the bylaws to foreign nationals who own the spaza shops.
Foreigners operate freely without these demands
“Let’s go around and look for only 10 spaza shops and check for compliance. None of them have permits; they are running the show. You can’t do anything because they [foreign nationals] are all over the show. That’s a huge problem for us,” said another business owner.
Evelyn Moloi of Ikageng Township says she has been trying to obtain a license since 2014. “After the president said people must register for tuckshops, I went to the municipality. They gave us by-laws forms to fill in, it had a long list of requirements we could not comply with. And it’s because it needs us to have a lot of money,” she said.
She said what piqued her interest was the municipality’s requirement that spaza shops be located in rezoned areas.
“I said to myself let me be on hold. If I rezone my own home calling it a business site, it means I am automatically evicting myself from my own house. Even the rent will be higher because they will bill me with business rates. And it’s because I will be operating a business at my home,” she said.
The group pleaded with the municipality to review its by-laws. And the municipality was given 24 hours to respond.
