Spazas booming in ward 66

Years ago, residents urged council to clamp down on people who were operating illegal businesses.

Their worry was that if the situation was not addressed, more illegal businesses would open and this would lead to a deterioration of the suburbs.

Today, people are operating businesses, many believed to be illegal, in just about every street in ward 66.

“The people operating these shops, known as spaza shops, are not paying rates and taxes, are dumping rubbish and impacting negatively on the suburbs they are in,” said Clr Carlos da Rocha.

Clr Da Rocha said he drove through every street in his ward to determine the extent of problems caused by these businesses. Areas such as Bez Valley, Bertrams, Bellevue, Judith’s Paarl and Kensington were visited.

Close to a hundred spaza shops were found.

Some spaza shops are not only operating from garages, but also shacks built on pavements. Shops include anything from those selling groceries, airtime to hairdressers and takeaways.

Some of the hairdressers lack proper sanitation and refuse facilities. Food that is made and kept at some of these businesses is done so in unhygienic conditions.

“This is not job creation. It is a case of people breaking a number of the city’s bylaws. Apart from bylaws being broken, owners of these businesses are impacting negatively on residents living around them. Property prices are decreasing. Residents could be exposed to health hazards. Rats and flies are increasing. The rubbish dumped by these people is entering the drains. This is leading to a host of other problems. This ward is a mess. The city should be taking action against the owners of these businesses. If the city does not want to address the situation by issuing notices and closing them down, then they should legalise them.

“By that I mean owners should apply for a licence. The city should make sure they adhere to the bylaws and look decent. They should also pay business rates and be provided with adequate bins and so forth,” he said.

Clr Da Rocha said he had forwarded photographs of the spaza shops he found to council officials and demanded a plan of action. He said if he does not get a response, he will consider his next option.

The EXPRESS forwarded enquiries to officials at the City of Johannesburg on numerous occasions. Messages were also left for officials who were unreachable. At the time of going to print, no comment had been received.