Members of Operation Dudula in Soweto have been blocking foreign nationals from registering their spaza shops, claiming they are stealing business from locals.
The group descended on the Civic Centre in Jabulani on Monday morning and prevented the foreign nationals from entering to register their businesses as part of government intervention to fight against the recent spate of food poisoning cases.
Last week, the government gave tuck shop owners 21 days to re-register their businesses or be forced to shut them down.
Operation Dudula members were seen chasing away cars they suspected belonged to foreign shop owners. Some even threw bottles at cars trying to get into the centre.
Dudula Members and community members chasing away alleged foreign nationals who have come to re-register their shops according to the new registering.
— Koena Mashale (@Koena_xM) November 18, 2024
This was after police closed a sangoma shop across the centre for safety reasons after the crowd got violent.@SowetanLIVE pic.twitter.com/02ZAqWrjGD
Operation Dudula president Zandile Dabula said the government should take care of South Africans first.
“South Africans are gatvol, we no longer want foreign nationals owning spaza shops, and that is why we are at the civic centre to block the entrance, so they do not enter ... and to stop them from registering,” she said.
South African spaza shop owners said it was unfair for them to be put through the registration process. Some had to wait for more than four hours to be assisted because of the chaos.
“South Africans are gatvol, we no longer want foreign nationals owning spaza shops, and that is why we are at the civic centre to block the entrance, so they do not enter ... and to stop them from registering.
— Operation Dudula president Zandile Dabula
Jabulani Tuck Shop owner Tseliso Nkomo, 54, said he finds it unfair to be put through this process.
“I’ve owned my tuck shop for more than five years and I’ve never had problems or was accused of poisoning children or anyone, but here I am. I was made to stand in the sun for four hours to re-register my business, this they say to regulate and make things better, but I didn’t poison anyone,” said Nkomo.
He said foreigners were trying “to register their shops under false pretences”.
“The majority of these owners are asylum seekers and they’ve come here with their landlords to register their shops and it’s wrong and illegal. It’s against the law for asylum seekers to do this [own a business] yet nothing is being done but we’re being punished,” he said.
The police, accompanied by amapanyaza (crime prevention wardens), have been on the scene since the morning trying to keep the peace.
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