Deputy President Paul Mashatile has called on locals to refrain from registering spaza shops for illegal immigrants, which is considered an unlawful activity.
“We have realised [there is] a tendency where some of South Africans were seen to try to register, but not for themselves to operate. They are registering for illegal immigrants. It’s an illegal activity that authorities must tackle,” Deputy President Mashatile said on Thursday.
The country’s second-in-command was responding to questions in the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) on a range of national and international issues of public importance.
He emphasised the importance of South Africans owning spaza shops and addressed the issue of some South Africans registering businesses for illegal immigrants.
“I call upon communities to refrain from illegal registration of the spaza shops. We all have a responsibility to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our communities, and particularly our children.”
His address underscored the need for compliance with regulations to ensure legitimate business operations in light of the incidents of foodborne illness facing the country, with over 890 cases and about close to 30 deaths since September.
In October this year, six primary school children from Naledi, Soweto, died after allegedly eating snacks from a foreign-owned local spaza shop.
Forensic tests have revealed that they were killed by a highly toxic organophosphate called terbufos.
“There is no suffering like losing a child. As government, we condemn in the strongest of terms, the irresponsible acts that have led to the loss of lives due to food-contamination cases affecting mainly children in recent weeks.”
The Deputy President stressed that foreigners who are in South Africa legally should be allowed to operate businesses, provided they meet certain criteria, such as providing a sufficient threshold of funds to the authorities.
President Cyril Ramaphosa addressed the nation recently to outline measures to address the incidents of foodborne illnesses. The measures include, among others, requiring municipalities to register all spaza shops and food-handling facilities within 21 days.
The Deputy President said this will go a long way towards enforcing the legal status of the spaza shops that are pivotal for township economies.
“We have a duty not only to provide a legal framework but also to mainstream this into the broader economy.”
Meanwhile, he told the Members of Parliament (MPs) that the Department of Small Business Development was implementing measures to support small businesses to adhere to health and safety regulations.
These include offering grants and loans to improve business infrastructure, customising training programs for food handling, hygiene, and safety standards, and training shop owners to verify product authenticity through serial numbers, and packaging.
In addition, the Minister of Small Business Development has established a task force to coordinate and align programmes for the township economy.
He stated that this will ensure the eradication of counterfeit goods and the development of new initiatives to support township and rural entrepreneurs and small, medium, and micro enterprises (SMMEs).
A joint fund of R500 million to support township and rural businesses has been established by the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition.
“The funding will be used for business refurbishment and non-financial support such as technical skills, regulatory compliance, and capacity building.”
Meanwhile, the Department of Health is part of joint operations that are being conducted throughout the country as a monitoring mechanism for compliance of suppliers.
“Any premises found to be non-compliant are closed, and illicit products found are confiscated.
“In the short term, we will establish Provincial Inspection Teams, and increase investment in the awareness campaigns, product authentication, supplier vetting, and reporting mechanisms.”
In the meantime, he said government was working around the clock to improve supply chain visibility and monitoring to prevent counterfeit goods from entering the value chain and foster relationships with reputable suppliers to ensure genuine products.
“In the long term, government will review and strengthen laws such as the Business Act and Business Licensing Bill to control business operations, govern counterfeiting, and increase penalties for offenders.”
He also assured his colleagues that government was tackling foodborne incidences and unregistered spaza shops through the National Joint Operations and Intelligence Structure (NATJOINTS), which is a multi-sectoral intervention plan.
“The plan includes training spaza shop owners on food trading legislation, registration processes, and sourcing safe products from health-certified suppliers.
“Most importantly, we urge local communities to report suspicious activities and promote awareness to Environmental Health Officers of their local municipalities.” – SAnews.gov.za
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