Cape Town – Gauteng Finance MEC Lebogang Maile has raised concerns over the high level of non-compliance among spaza shops in the province, leading to the closure of 296 shops, mostly in Johannesburg.
Over 23,000 inspections have been conducted across major municipalities, revealing widespread violations.
Maile said that the City of Johannesburg has received a total of 2,179 applications, including 593 from foreign nationals. Meanwhile, the City of Tshwane has recorded 4,109 applications, with 1,879 submitted by foreigners. Similarly, municipalities like Sedibeng and Rand West City have also reported a significant number of applications from foreign-owned businesses.
GAUTENG FINANCE MEC LEBOGANG MAILE GIVES AN UPDATE ON REGISTRATION OF SPAZA SHOPS https://t.co/mMKxUVvZFJ
— Newzroom Afrika (@Newzroom405) February 2, 2025
He said that local authorities will persist with inspections and close down shops that fail to comply with regulations.
“As of today, 7,802 inspections have been conducted in the City of Johannesburg, with 1,444 of the spaza shops and food handling facilities being found non-compliant. In the City of Tshwane, a total of 5,851 inspections have been conducted with 1,905 being found non-compliant. In the City of Ekurhuleni 9,433 inspections have been conducted with 8,848 being found non-compliant,” said Maile.
He emphasised that illegal immigrants would not be allowed to conduct business in the province.
UPDATE ON THE REGISTRATION OF SPAZA SHOPS AND FOOD-HANDLING FACILITIES
Joint plans by municipalities and digitisation of the application process
Various municipalities across the Gauteng Province have developed an online portal registration system to ease the process of… pic.twitter.com/rGjj3Pzbkn
— Lebogang Maile (@LebogangMaile1) February 2, 2025
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
