The Merafong City Local Municipality is planning stricter measures to govern small businesses such as spaza shops in the area. During the council meeting on November 28, it was decided that the municipality must look into implementing a new Standard Draft Bylaw for township economies as this will improve the regulation of small businesses.

To achieve this, councillors and officials should attend workshops on the by-laws related to township economies. Public consultations should also be held in this regard. In terms of the Constitution and the Local Government Structures Act (177 of 1998) the municipality can license and regulate business activities, which include those selling food to the public.

It is also expected of the municipality to have the necessary by-laws in place and do the policing related to this.

The fact that this is not done properly has come into the spotlight because of the problems related to deaths from food bought from spaza shops in Gauteng and in the broader country during the past few months.

The council decided that it urgently needs a coordinated approach to deal with small businesses not adhering to by-laws.

Some residents, especially the owners of formal businesses, have been asking for years that the laws regulating their activities be enforced on small businesses as well.