Limpopo spaza shop registrations slower than expected
LEDET MEC Baldwin Matibe said many registration forms were collected but haven't been returned leading to the belief that many did not qualify to do so.
POLOKWANE – The low turnout of spaza shop owners registering their operations is worrisome to local authorities, with only 1 915 businesses registered in the province up until last Friday.
Qualified registrations are tallied every Friday, having started two weeks ago, days after President Cyril Ramaphosa gave a 21-day notice period for a registration campaign following incidents of food contamination from products apparently bought from spaza shops.
Economic Development MEC Baldwin Matibe said they had noted that many registration forms were collected, but are yet to be returned.
This has led them to the conclusion that many of those wanting to register spaza shops don’t qualify to do so.
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Prospective applicants, predominantly foreign nationals, target vulnerable citizens to register and lease out their infrastructure, he said.
However, targeting only immigrant-owned spaza shops and seeking to exclude immigrants from running spaza shops is unconstitutional, the head of the Refugee and Migrant Rights Project at Lawyers for Human Rights, Sharon Ekambaram has said.
“The failure to address the rat infestation is the real issue. By focusing on foreign-owned spaza shops, the focus shifts from holding government at all levels accountable for its failure to ensure basic services, such as waste removal in townships and informal settlements,” Ekambaram mentioned.
Meanwhile, Matibe also said after successful registration, owners can be absorbed in a national training and resource programme.
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“We urge citizens to heed the call to register. Government can even kickstart the business through the fund. The aim is to reclaim the rural and township economy which is currently filled with foreign-owned spaza shops that are illegal and potentially harmful to our communities,” he explained.
Matibe said illegal registrations between tenants and landlords were quite prevalent, but he could not provide specific numbers to this effect.
“When we run food inspections at spaza shops, we move with police and immigration officials, who also assess their documents. Many do not have immigration documents and the state of their spaza shops does not adhere to basic regulations.”
