Cape Town — The City of Joburg has officially closed five spaza shops for in Dobsonville and Diepkloof for non-compliance on Friday afternoon as they were found to have expired foods.
This comes following the death of five-year-old Siyabonga Mnisi, who died after consuming snacks bought from a spaza shop in Diepkloof. He is the latest death in a long line of food-related deaths in South Africa. The government has since classified foodborne illnesses a national disaster in an effort tor curb unnecessary deaths.
According to EWN, a multi-disciplinary team conducted raids at 12 shops in total and most of them were found to have expired foods on the shelves. The waste management team said it removed all the expired and unlabelled goods.
“In terms of the foodstuff, a lot of expired products in all the other shops was also taken in and there’s some of the products have a myriad of non-compliance. For example, it’s not properly priced or it’s not priced at all. Some of the biscuits, the labelling, it’s either not labelled, especially the pre-packaged foods that was confiscated,” Gauteng director of consumer affairs, Mlly Viljoen, said.
Six people have been arrested in Dobsonville, Soweto, following several raids on #SpazaShops by the city of Joburg. They have been arrested for illegal immigration as well as being in possession of unlicensed ammunition. Several rounds for a rifle (possibly an R1) were found. pic.twitter.com/caTS5EzyBJ
— EWN Reporter (@ewnreporter) November 22, 2024
She added that the issue is usually due to pre-packaging with poor hygiene issues and cross-contamination that happens when the food is packed.
According to SABC News, City of Johannesburg officials and police were busy moving from shop to shop to find goods not safe for consumption. During one raid, law enforcement found live ammunition and other illegal items in a raid led by City of Joburg’s Economic Development MMC, Nomoya Mnisi.
“We closed down all four spaza shops. In the first one that we went to we discovered live ammunition. SAPS was here with us and they did indicate what firearms those ammunition is used for. The big boss did have papers to be here legally. But the employees did not,” Mnisi said.
Authorities closed four shops in Dobsonville and one shop in Diepkloof as they did not comply with City by-laws, while many expired goods were confiscated.
Mnisi says they will expand the operations to other areas of the City.
Authorities discover ammunition and guns while conducting a raid at a spaza shop in Dobsonville, Soweto; Diepkloof residents send stern warnings to spaza shop owners who reopen closed shops; North West Community Portfolio Committee says more shocking revelations may come out of… pic.twitter.com/PRSx0cigUU
— Newzroom Afrika (@Newzroom405) November 22, 2024
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Compiled by Matthew Petersen
