Gauteng Spaza shop re-registration plan unveiled

The Gauteng government has outlined its plan to help re-register spaza shops, a step towards regulating the informal sector following the series of deadly food-borne illnesses in the country.

The new measures are aimed at helping spaza shop owners to register their businesses within the 21-day deadline set by President Cyril Ramaphosa last week for all operators to reregister their businesses or face closure.

Interventions
The Gauteng Provincial Government (GPG) said it welcomes the president’s interventions as it align with the interventions that had been proposed by the provincial leadership.

Earlier this month, GPG had an extensive consultation with Professor Hanna-Andrea Rother, the head of the environmental health division in the School of Public Health at the University of Cape Town. This was done to gain deeper knowledge on the subject of pesticide toxicity as a means of determining the approach to the elimination of the identified pesticide in the deaths and hospitalisations of children in the province.

The department also relaunched the Qondis’ Ishishini Lakho campaign as a comprehensive programme to address all aspects of illegality prevalent in the township economy.

Whilst focus has been on the extent to which businesses comply with licensing, permits and health conditions, the conditions of properties used in business operations must also be compliant with zoning regulations in local government.

Business registration and inspections
One of the key challenges that have given rise to non-compliance by spaza shops in Gauteng is that most structures used for spaza shops do not meet building control, zoning rights and environmental health standards.

Therefore, municipalities will be intervening in this through the deployment of building inspectors, environment health officers, local economic development officers, fire inspectors, as well as town and regional planners.

The aim of this is to ensure that local enterprises meet the highest standards of safety.

Requirements
Operators can go to their respective municipal offices to register.

Various requirements need to be met to ensure the successful registration of your spaza shop.
These included:
• A correctly filed application form that provides personal and business details.
• A certified and valid copy of a South African identity document
• Proof of residence
• Business registration with the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission
• Proof of ownership or permission to utilise business premises
• Zoning certificate and consent use or special consent use or comment from municipal city planning
• Certificate of acceptability or comment from the environmental health department supporting the application
• The municipality-determined payment before a business license may be issued

Foreign nationals
Foreign nationals will be required to provide valid documentation from the Department of Home Affairs, which will authorise them to operate a business in South Africa. This must be in the form of a valid business visa or work permit.

The eligibility for a business visa, as per South African law, is that a foreign national must invest a prescribed amount of Rm into an existing business or provide a business plan with evidence of R5m capital contribution.

Foreign nationals may establish a business which is of national interest to South Africa, as stipulated in the Industrial Policy Action Plan, for which there is no minimum capital investment required. While the Department of Home Affairs is the custodian of the business visa process, the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition facilitates the recommendation of support for granting businesses which have a substantive economic impact.

Foreign business owners must also abide by South African laws in terms of the employment of workers in their businesses.
The law requires that those employed in these shops be in possession of work permits, the most common of which is the general work visa.

This visa is issued to foreigners where it has been proven beyond reasonable doubt that South African citizens and permanent residents with the relevant qualifications or skills and experience are not available for employment.

Registering shops under false pretence
Various inspections by the provincial and local governments have unearthed the practice of South African citizens registering spaza shops on behalf of foreign nationals who are not compliant with the laws of the country.

This fragrant disregard for the law is unacceptable as it makes it difficult for municipalities to compile valid data on enterprises in townships, which in turn makes the work of monitoring their compliance difficult.

It could also potentially create legal challenges for the said South Africans where issues of negligence resulting in hospitalisations and deaths arise. Furthermore, this action poses a serious national security challenge to South Africans as the absence of documentation of foreign nationals means they do not exist in the system.

Concerns by local spaza shop owners and digital processing
The Department has noted legitimate concerns being raised by local business owners about the timelines stipulated by the President for business registrations.

Many business owners are concerned that 21 days may not be sufficient.

Some of the concerns include that shop owners may not have the resources to travel to municipal offices to register as they rely on the money they make after selling their products.

Delays with consent applications have also been cited. These are legitimate concerns that affect particularly micro-enterprises.
Except for the City of Ekurhuleni, local municipalities do not have adequate digital platforms for the registration processes required to ensure compliance.

The department will be continuing with compliance blitzes as part of the Qondis’ Ishishini Lakho campaign, which provides a one-stop shop for shop owners to get their business’s compliance in order. Shop owners who are unable to meet the 21-day deadline are encouraged to make use of this avenue but to do everything possible to utilise the localities provided.

Township Commercial Property Owners Imbizo
The Department of Economic Development will be hosting the Township Commercial Property Owners Imbizo.
This imbizo aims to deliberate on the ownership of properties in townships and the challenges encountered by owners about zoning requirements.

Other issues for discussion will include the regularisation of properties built without zoning permits, and exploring conditions under which municipalities allow for regularisation.

The envisaged outcome of this imbizo are:
• To develop a deeper understanding of the issues influencing the township commercial property rental market
• To map a collective programme of action aimed at improving trading/operational conditions in the townships
• To optimally use space in the township to enhance manufacturing capacity and streamline supplier value chains
• To create a credible and reliable database of township-owned enterprises, including economic assets.
• The coordination of all of the government efforts towards the impactful intervention in the township economy
• To position engagements to educate communities on compliance requirements.

Business owners are encouraged to get further information on the registration process by visiting the stated localities as well as through the social media platforms of municipalities.

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