The Steve Tshwete Local Municipality, along with SAPS members, the Department of Home Affairs, Municipal Law Enforcement, the Licensing Department, Town Planning, Environmental and Waste Management, and Nkangala District Environmental Health Practitioners visited spaza shops in Doornkop.
Doornkop residents took matters into their own hands earlier this month and started investigating conditions in spaza shops in the area.
The initiative arose after a little girl fell ill in early February, allegedly from consuming chips purchased from a foreign-owned spaza shop.
The operation took place yesterday (Wednesday).
The health inspectors visited 10 spaza shops; three shops were closed for non-compliance by the Licensing Department, and one compliance notice was issued.
The departments issued the following fines:
• Three transgression orders were issued by the Town Planning Department.
• Six condemnation certificates were issued, one shop was closed, and one non-compliance notice was issued by the Environmental Health Practitioners.
• Three tuck shop operators were detained by the Department of Home Affairs and SAPS for expired documentation.
• Three tuck shop operators were detained by the Department of Home Affairs for verification of documents.
• One gambling machine was confiscated by law enforcement, and two fines were issued for illegal gambling and illegal dumping.
The municipality encourages residents to always check the expiry dates of food items before purchasing at any stores, as consuming expired food can lead to food poisoning.
