Gauteng Finance MEC Lebogang Maile has issued a strong warning against foreign nationals allegedly intimidating local spaza shop owners into closing their businesses.
Maile emphasised that the government would take firm action to ensure the safety of South Africans and protect local entrepreneurs from such threats.
This statement follows reports from local spaza shop owners accusing foreign nationals of bullying them and claiming sole rights to operate these businesses.
Maile urged victims to report incidents promptly so that authorities could intervene effectively.
“We will protect our citizens against criminality and we have got that duty. We will deploy more resources to protect our citizens,” he said.
The registration of spaza shops is ongoing across the country, with the government extending the deadline to February 28 to allow more time for owners to submit their required documents.
The extension follows complaints from shop owners about the initial timeline being too short.
During a briefing in Johannesburg, Maile provided an update on the spaza shop registration process and the province’s food-handling facilities.
He revealed a significant increase in applications, with the number of spaza shop registration forms issued rising from 13,616 to 21,172 within ten days.
Of these, 10,389 forms have already been submitted across Gauteng municipalities.
The number of applications from foreign nationals also increased, now standing at 2,818, up by 213 since the last update.
However, the number of returned applications due to missing documentation has grown to 2,677, up from 1,916 during the previous update.
Maile also addressed the issue of spaza shops built on municipal property, such as water pipelines and electrical lines.
He warned that such structures would be demolished if regularisation was not possible.
“In some instances, such as where structures are erected on critical infrastructure, there will be a need for demolition in order to protect this critical infrastructure that services communities,” Maile explained, adding that the government recognizes the economic impact of such actions and aims to approach the matter developmentally.
The government continues to prioritise the protection of local businesses while ensuring that all spaza shop operations comply with regulations.
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