Lerato Mailoane
Gauteng MEC for Finance and Economic Development, Lebogang Maile, has urged all spaza shops to submit their applications to operate their businesses legally before the upcoming deadline of 28 February 2025.
Gauteng is on a drive to legally register spaza shops in response to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s pronouncement on the 15 November 2024 in which he announced measures needed to be taken to address the recurring foodborne illnesses that have claimed the lives of numerous children and led to their hospitalisation.
Among the key interventions that the president proposed was that spaza shops and food-handling facilities that are operating in the country must be registered with their respective municipalities within 21 days, and that those not registered within this period and not meeting all health standards and requirements must be closed.
The provincial department has noted that while many applications have been received from local and foreign-owned shops, the approval rate for foreign-owned spaza shops and food-handling facilities remains low.
Addressing the media on Sunday, MEC Maile said 2179 applications have been received in the City of Johannesburg, 593 of which are from foreign nationals.
“The number of approved foreign national-owned spaza shop applications is eight. The City of Tshwane reports receiving 4109 applications, with 1879 from foreigners.
“In total, 148 applications have been approved, while 564 were rejected pending submission of relevant documents.”
A total, the MEC said of 343 applications by foreign nationals have been processed and are awaiting confirmation from the Department of Home Affairs and the South African Revenue Service, while 20 have been approved. A total of 780 Certificates of Acceptability have been issued.
In the Sedibeng District Municipality, which comprises the Midvaal, Emfuleni, and Lesedi Local Municipalities, 2688 applications have been received, 1260 of which were from foreigners.
In the Rand West, 150 applications have been received, of which 125 are from facilities owned by foreign nationals. No applications have been approved.
In Ekurhuleni, 109 COAs have been issued to date.
Merafong has received 58 business license applications and 52 from foreign nationals.
Thus far, no applications from foreign nationals have been approved. The municipality has issued a total of 22 COAs.
In Mogale, 93 applications have been received, with 12 being from foreign nationals.
The total number of applications approved is 34, with 12 being whereby the owner is a foreign national.
About 107 COAs have been approved in the municipality.
The MEC said they have conducted 7802 inspections in Johannesburg, with 1444 spaza shops and food-handling facilities found non-compliant. This resulted in the closure of 23 spaza shops and food-handling facilities due to non-compliance with environmental health and safety standards.
“In Tshwane, 5851 inspections have been conducted, with 1,905 non-compliant. A total of 48 have been closed due to non-compliance.
In Ekurhuleni, 9433 inspections have been conducted, with 8848 being found non-compliant. Five spaza shops and food-handling facilities have been closed in the area.
“In Mogale, 2 351 inspections have been conducted, with 23 spaza shops and food-handling facilities found non-compliant.
“No facility has been closed. In the Sedibeng District Municipality, 927 joint inspections have been conducted, with 30 being found non-compliant. No facility has been closed,” explained Maile while inspections were yet to be conducted in the Rand West.
MEC Maile said compliance remained a challenge across municipalities, particularly with spaza shops facing zoning issues. While demolitions were a last resort, the Gauteng government worked to expedite regularisation processes over the next two months.
Furthermore, the MEC confirmed that the provincial government was working with the home affairs department, SARS and law enforcement agencies to address fraudulent documentation and ensure foreign nationals complied with legal and health safety standards.
He said 7 148 Gauteng spaza shops and food-handling facilities were receiving training, and 372 interventions had been completed. Training had not started in Mogale City.
He said the provincial government was conducting inspections and investigations to enforce shutdowns where spaza shops had resumed operations after being closed.
“Compliance continues to be a serious challenge across all municipalities. In the case of spaza shops, the main issue pertains to zoning. Many inspected structures were built without zoning provisions and consent use, with some built on critical municipal infrastructure,” he added.
SOURCED FROM THE GPG WEBSITE.
