Minister clarifies spaza shop registration deadline

Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa has clarified the confusion around the deadline for the spaza shop registration.

Initially thought to be on Friday, 13 December, Hlabisa said the real deadline for spaza shop registrations is Tuesday, 17 December, Cogta head of communications Legadima Leso confirmed to The Citizen.

“The 21 days began the Monday after the president’s address and did not include weekends. If this coming Monday was not a public holiday, the deadline would have been Monday,” said Leso.

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“A circular will be produced today to confirm that the deadline is Tuesday and not tomorrow. We are really sorry for any confusion.”

Spaza shop registration

On Friday, 15 November, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that all spaza shops must be registered with their respective municipalities within 21 days.

This is amid a rising number of child deaths linked to food-borne illnesses caused by items purchased from the shops.

“Any shop not registered within 21 days and that does not meet all health standards will be closed,” Ramaphosa said.

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While the application for registration is open to everyone, it is only the first step.

After 21 days, the government will assess whether applicants meet all the requirements.

Those who fail to meet the criteria will not be able to register their businesses.

Gauteng registrations

During a media briefing on Wednesday, Gauteng Province MEC for Economic Development and Finance Lebogang Maile said the province has established 85 registration centres across all five regions.

The centres open daily between 07:30am and 4pm, with a total of 372 personnel assisting with registrations.

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As of 10 December 2024, the number of spaza shops issued with registration forms stands at 13,616. Of these, 1,916 were returned to the owners due to being incomplete, with some missing critical supporting documents.

Maile said 2,605 applications were submitted by non-South African spaza shop owners, based on data from municipalities.

“A total of 541 spaza shops have been closed for non-compliance. Non-compliant businesses include those without Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CICP) registration, which is a legal requirement for operating a business in South Africa,” said Maile.

“Other issues of non-compliance include a lack of certificates of acceptability or comment from Environmental Health and non-payment of operating licenses that are obtained from municipalities.

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“Businesses operating from unsafe premises and within a hazardous environment have also been closed for non-compliance.”