‘The township economy should belong to locals’: Residents want ban on foreigners running spaza shops

Although the government sees legislation to regulate spaza shops in townships as a way to address illegal activities, the law falls short of expectations from locals who want to own the township economy.

Residents hoped the state would not only deal with the removal of poisonous substances and ensure businesses operated legally but expected a ban on foreigners from trading in townships.

They said the new Standard Draft By-Law for Township Economies issued under the Local Government: Municipal Systems Act and signed by Local Government and Cooperative Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa had not gone far enough.

The by-law provides for an unspecified quota of businesses to be operated by foreigners and an unspecified proportion of locals to be employed.

It was not specific on the quota of locals who must operate the businesses.

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‘The township economy should belong to local people’

A resident of Bramfisherville in Soweto, Bassie Mthombeni, said locals should be given preference to be spaza owners.

“The township economy should belong to local people. These foreign people have taken over most of the city businesses, now they are taking the township economy?” she said.

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Moving when they could get caught

They were also concerned that many foreign traders, after realising they were under scrutiny in townships, moved to villages in outlying provinces where no state inspections for illegal trading and illegal immigrants occurred.

A former spaza shop owner at KwaNonkcampa village outside Qonce in the Eastern Cape, Mzwandile Methu, said: “These foreigners buy their stock from the same back-door manufacturers that are notorious for keeping contaminated foodstuff in big cities and transport it by buses to spaza shops in our villages.”

In Randburg, many foreign-owned shops were closed after the owners heard that government inspectors were on the way to check permits and immigration status.

“Why is the government not stopping foreigners from trading completely so that only locals are allowed? Only locals should be allowed to sell in the townships,” said Tebogo Maotwe from Zola in Soweto.

ALSO READ: 23 children have died from contaminated food in Gauteng spaza shops – Lesufi

Spaza shops to close

President Cyril Ramaphosa on Friday said shops implicated in the deaths of children would be closed with immediate effect.

He said all spaza shops and food handling facilities must be registered within the municipalities in which they operate within 21 days and those who failed to register or failed health inspections would be closed.

Establishments found in possession of restricted or banned pesticides will face legal consequences.

Ramaphosa said since the beginning of September, a total of 890 incidents of food-born illnesses across all provinces were reported.

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