No place for expired goods in our spaza shops say Seshego residents
Seshego, like most townships, carries thousands of foreign nationals whose small supermarkets are rented in yards owned by local residents who say they cannot ignore reports about conterfeit goods.
POLOKWANE – The recent discovery of less than savoury food and snack manufacturing spots in Johannesburg, has given rise to a plan by Seshego resident to search spaza shops owned by foreign nationals.
During a community meeting on Sunday, some said they could not turn a blind eye to media reports about the deaths of four children whose post mortem results pointed to food poisoning as the cause of death.
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A report suggests that some Pakistani and Somali foreign nationals carrying asylum-seeking documents, own the hub in Johannesburg which sells counterfeit goods including condoms, beans, cornflakes, spaghetti, noodles, cough syrup, cool drinks, milk and headache medication.
At the meeting, the concerned group presented photographs of food items circulated on social media as presumably those manufactured at these factories.
They also showed a video in which products at a legally presumed supermarket and a foreign-owned spaza shop were compared and the latter was pointed as the culprit for selling fake goods.
Photographs of known medication packages in a manufacturing process were also placed on social media with the suggestion from users that these were counterfeit.
In recent months, police in the city raided stores where expired goods are sold along Bok, Pres. Paul Kruger and Rissik streets.
Seshego, like most townships, carries thousands of foreign nationals whose small supermarkets are rented in yards owned by local residents.
To locals, these shops are situated more convenient than having to travel to a well-known supermarket and are active contributors to the township economy.
Tax Justice South Africa (TJSA) and the SA Revenue Service, however, recently announced that this industry costs the country’s fiscus billions of rand.
“Had it not been for the increase in illicit goods being sold on the streets, at tuck shops, or any other areas, the country’s fiscus could afford another R12b for education, R6.5b for health, and another R6.5b for community development,” the TJSA recently stated.
On Monday, residents told BONUS that after the meeting, they invited various stakeholders, including the local police, health services, home affairs and city authorities to assist in the plan to conduct search operations.
“We could have carried it out on our own, but we need to follow the rule of law and that is why we invited these officials to a meeting scheduled for Wednesday (October 25). It is best for all our lives to conduct these operations,” community member Vincent Kunutu said.
Meanwhile, Seshego police spokesperson Ali Maluleke confirmed that their station will be represented, adding that efforts to collect information by police about the matter is under way from local police.
Westenburg residents said they would follow suit soon, but were still engaging with the authorities.
