Government stands firm on 21-day spaza registration period

COGTA Minister Velenkosini Thlabisa has defended government’s controversial 21 day window for spaza shops to register. 

His remarks come at the back of sentiments from some spaza shop owners,  that 21 days is not enough  and community efforts to block foreign spaza shop operators. 

Hlabisa, alongside several other ministers, was in Pretoria on Thursday outlining plans to deal with food borne illnesses. 

Since September, nearly 900 cases of food borne illnesses have been reported, claiming the lives of at least 22 children. 

President Cyril Ramaphosa last week mandated a 21-day registration period for spaza shops, aiming to regulate the informal food sector and curb the recent surge in food-borne illnesses. 

The directive requires all spaza shop owners, including foreign nationals, to register their businesses with the relevant authorities. 

The briefing came just hours after police in Durban discovered a warehouse of imported goods that had expired.  

According the police, it’s suspected the expired food was meant to be distributed to other warehouses across the country, where tuck shop and spaza shop owners stock. 

He announced that government would be declaring food borne diseases as a national disaster. 

Community outrage has grown following the death of a 5-year-old boy in Soweto on Thursday, who is the latest victim of yet another suspected food poisoning incident.  

Dudula supporters have vowed to prevent foreign nationals from registering their spaza shops. 

They are outraged over foreign-owned spaza shops in their communities, blaming them for the recent spate of food-borne illnesses. 

They’ve cited health risks and economic exclusion they believe has been caused by foreign-owned , and vow to take action to protect local livelihoods.

Hlabisa, however, has condemned the actions. 

He’s promised to personally meet with Operation Dudula leaders, should the situation not calm down. 

“At a personal level we will be engaging Operation Dudula leaders. They may be feeling very strongly but they should not take the law into their own hands,” he said. 

He added that officials would not tolerate further disruptions, as spaza shop owners scramble to meet the presidents 21-day deadline, which ends on the 6th of November.

Meanwhile, Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen confirmed that there was no evidence to suggest that the Terbufos found in some South African spaza shops was locally produced.

The highly toxic pesticide, which is not permitted for residential use, has been linked to food-poisoning related deaths.

“If one looks at the pictures of what has been found in the spaza shops, it differs quite significantly from the colour and texture of locally produced Terbufos,” said Steenhuisen.

Only a handful of companies in South Africa are allowed to make and sell Terbufos.

Steenhuisen, however, says there was no evidence to suggest the companies had illegally distributed the substance.