‘We want spaza shops to be owned by locals, not undocumented foreigners’ – KZN premier

KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Premier Thami Ntuli says the provincial government has called an urgent meeting with municipalities to discuss enforcing spaza shop compliance with national laws.

This follows a recent case in Mzumbe, Ugu District, where three children and a family dog died from suspected food poisoning, while the children’s grandmother was hospitalised.

“Even though post-mortem results are yet to confirm the actual cause of the death, it is alleged that the victims fell ill and passed away because of the food poisoning,” said Ntuli during a media briefing on Thursday.

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“It is reported that even the family dog had eaten the same food and died. The children were of the ages two, six and 11 years old.”

The family reportedly made a living by collecting waste for recycling.

By-law gazetted

Last week, Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) Velenkosini Hlabisa gazetted a draft by-law aligned with the Municipal Systems Act of 2000.

It aims to “transform townships into vibrant economic hubs through harmonising township business ecosystems”.

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The by-law focuses on foreign ownership, allowing the government to set quotas for the number of South African-owned businesses and staff employed by foreigners.

The draft clearly defines a foreigner as, “an individual who is neither a South African citizen, nor a permanent resident, but is not an illegal foreigner in terms of the Immigration Act 13 of 2002”.

The law permits setting limits on the number of businesses within a specific category that may be owned by foreigners.

Meeting on spaza shop ownership

In response to the gazette, Ntuli has called an urgent meeting for Friday, 15 November, “to engage on a strategy we can use to address spaza shop compliance with the laws of our country”.

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“We will not allow illegal operations and spaza shops to jeopardise the lives of the people of KwaZulu-Natal,” said Ntuli.

“We are working together with the provincial police commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi and the Border Management Agency to conduct unannounced operations against illegal foreigners operating spaza shops to check even the quality of the goods they sell.

“Municipalities are expected to adhere to those by-laws. This is why we have called municipalities for a meeting tomorrow.”

Ntuli also said that the provincial government would look into ways to reclaim spaza shops for local residents.

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“We will further engage with the municipalities to collaborate with the KZN government in an effort to get back spaza shops owned by undocumented foreign nationals to the people of KZN and engage on ways to support the spaza shops owned by our people,” said Ntuli.

“It is our commitment that we want spaza shops to be owned back by the people of KwaZulu-Natal, not the undocumented foreign nationals.”

Additional reporting by Jarryd Westerdale