With the February deadline for spaza shops to register drawing closer, Ekurhuleni Metro Police Department (EMPD) members have uncovered an illegal trade in fraudulent documents designed to help spaza shop owners bypass legal processes and possibly fool inspectors.

Boksburg Advertiser reports a team of environmental health practitioners and EMPD officers on Tuesday raided an internet café after receiving information that it was producing fake Certificates of Acceptability resembling those officially issued by the municipality to local businesses.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the operator, a 30-year-old man, produced the fake certificates and sold them to shop owners for R2 500. Several fraudulent documents were found on the suspect’s computer.

Officers confiscated all equipment, and the suspect was arrested and detained at Tsakani Police Station.

Spaza shop operator busted for fake permit

Following the arrest of the man believed to be generating fake certificates, EMPD members arrested a 23-year-old Somali man on Wednesday for possessing a fake Certificate of Acceptability in Tsakani Ext 12.

According to the metro, the arrest of the document forger prompted an operation targeting businesses using fraudulent permits in the area.

This led to the arrest of the Somali spaza shop operator, who was detained at Tsakani Police Station. He will appear in the Tsakani Magistrate’s Court soon.

“We shall continue to investigate, and anyone caught with such documents will be arrested,” says acting chief of police Julius Mkhwanazi.

A Certificate of Acceptability (COA) is a food business permit issued to food-handling premises to ensure compliance with health and safety regulations set by the Department of Health. The COA is mandatory for legally operating a food business.

Registration deadline

The government has extended the registration deadline for spaza shops and food-handling outlets across SA to February 28 after many spaza shop owners struggled to register within the initial 21-day deadline that ended on December 18.

In response to deaths and illnesses from contaminated food reportedly bought from spaza shops and informal traders, President Cyril Ramaphosa directed last month that all spaza shops and food-handling facilities must register with their respective municipalities within 21 days.

However, at a press briefing in December, Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa said the government still needs to do more to regulate the sector and enforce health standards.

Hlabisa acknowledged concerns over the tight registration deadline but said it was set to urgently ensure compliance with health and safety standards following recent food-borne illness incidents.