Only 4 spaza shops owned by foreigners have been registered so far in Limpopo

Only four out of 484 spaza shop applications belonging to foreign nationals were given the greenlight to operate in Limpopo so far.

The registration deadline was extended to 28 February.

“We had a total of 484 foreign nationals who applied to register between 14 November 2024 to 24 January 2025. Over 300 applications were sent to Home Affairs for verification, while four had all the required documentation upon applying and found compliant,” department spokesperson Zaid Kala said in a statement on Friday. 

“Keep in mind that this doesn’t mean that there’s only four in Limpopo, but, other compliant spaza shop owners could be already operating (legally) as they completed their processes upon receiving approvals from Home Affairs as and when they arrived in South Africa,” he explained. 

Spaza shop registration to improve economy?

According to Kala, fewer spaza shops owned by foreign nationals will not affect the economy of the province. 

“Our provincial economy is not affected at all and will not be affected, even if most foreign-owned spaza shops were to close down. There will be no negative economic impacts even if there is a mass exodus of foreign-owned spaza shops from our economy as most of them were operating illegally, had no business banking, were not Sars compliant and not positively contributing to local employment, nor are they supporting local businesses by procuring stock for them,” said Kala.

ALSO READ: Gauteng shuts down 296 non-compliant spaza shops

He said the provincial government is expecting a positive economic impact from 1 March, as all the spaza shops operating will be doing so within the confines of the law, employing locals, and selling registered goods that are produced locally.

Limpopo’s unemployment rate

One of the poorest provinces in the country, Limpopo’s latest employment stats saw a decline of 16 000 jobs between the third and fourt quarter of 2024. The province’s unemployment rate stands at 31.9%. 

Kala hopes this changes as spaza shops are forced to comply with regulations.

“We hope local people will take over all shops that will be closed after the deadline and make use of them. The government introduced a fund to assist aspirant SMMES who want to run the township and rural businesses, including spaza shops. We are confident that our people will benefit greatly from this fund,” he said. 

Kala warned that any food handling business or spaza shop that is not registered by 28 February cannot operate.

This comes after President Cyril Ramaphosa issued a directive for businesses to register with their local municipalities after a number of children died from food-borne illnesses. The food was largely purchased from spaza shops owned by foreign nationals.

NOW READ: SA’s food poisoning crisis: Government’s response isn’t dealing with the real issues