LISTEN | Don’t register shops for illegal foreigners, cautions Mashatile as deadline looms

Deputy President Paul Mashatile has warned South Africans against registering businesses for illegal foreigners, asking authorities to act against such actions. He says the government wants South Africans to own most shops.

Next Friday is the deadline for spaza shops to be registered, with the government warning unregistered businesses will be shut down.

President Cyril Ramaphosa set a 21-day deadline to register the informal food businesses at their local municipalities despite the challenges posed by the large number of businesses involved. This is part of the critical interventions the Presidency took to prevent the consumption of contaminated food from the shops.

There is no evidence that suggests “any deliberate campaign to poison children in our country. There is also no evidence that the problem is confined to spaza shops owned by foreigners only. These products are just as likely to be sold in shops owned by South Africans,” Ramaphosa said during the announcement.

Answering questions from MPs on Thursday, Mashatile said: “The only worry we have is that there are those who are registering spaza shops for illegal foreigners. We need to curb that. Please don’t register your shop so that it’s operated by illegal foreigners.

“Within 21 days we want to have registered all these shops. They are many — we are giving ourselves a challenging task. It may be a big challenge to reach everybody within 21 days but the president has [set] this and we are pushing for it and making sure we achieve this task.”

Listen to Mashatile:

He said eventually all businesses, not only spaza shops, would have to be registered so the government knows who is operating them.

“We want to see South Africans owning most of these businesses. We have realised a tendency that some South Africans were seen to be registering for illegal immigrants. It's illegal and the authorities must tackle that.”

The registration drive is seen as a critical intervention by the Presidency to regulate informal trade, prevent the sale of harmful goods and ensure business owners are legally recognised.

As the cut-off day approaches, authorities are urging spaza shop owners to comply with the registration requirements to avoid closure.

The recent food-borne illness cases sparked a heated debate, leading to authorities stepping in.

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