Minister warns eMbalenhle residents against fronting in spaza shop funding applications

The Minister of Small Business Development, Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams, has warned local citizens against fronting for foreign nationals when applying for government funding aimed at supporting South African-owned spaza shops.

Ndabeni-Abrahams was addressing young people during the National Youth Development Agency Phanda Thursday launch held at the Sasol Club in eMbalenhle on May 28.

“As government, we want to bring township, rural and urban economy back to the citizens of this country, and we encourage our citizens, especially women and youth, to register with their respective municipalities and open spaza shops,” said Ndabeni-Abrahams.

She said her department, working together with the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition, led by Parks Tau, has set aside R500m to support spaza shop owners across the country.

“My department put R150m and the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition contributed R350m, making a total of R500m for our agencies to assist aspiring spaza shop owners,” she said.

Ndabeni-Abrahams revealed that only 20 out of 202 spaza shop applications have received funding due to cases of fronting, while other applicants are still waiting for permits from municipalities.

“We said municipalities must give local spaza shop owners temporary certificates, but municipalities are moving slowly and this delays us from assisting with funding for stock and infrastructure,” she said.

She added that of the R150m allocated by her department, only R76m has been spent nationally to assist small businesses in communities.

“Don’t be ashamed to open spaza shops or salons. The money spent in the Gert Sibande District is only just above R2m.

“We do not know whether people are applying or whether they are not getting the right assistance to access funding.

“We want small businesses to grow and employ people who are sitting at home without jobs,” she said.

Ndabeni-Abrahams also encouraged unemployed graduates to use their skills and knowledge to support businesses in their communities or start their own enterprises.

“We have also approved R78m that will assist 30 businesses in food production and 10 of those entrepreneurs will come from the Gert Sibande District. These are the opportunities that are still coming,” she said.

Meanwhile, Sindisiwe Chikunga appealed to young people to limit alcohol consumption and focus on building their futures.

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