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Health officials are pictured during a compliance inspection visit to a spaza shop in Mpumalanga on 03 November 2024.
The uMkhonto weSizwe Party has submitted a Private Member’s Bill aimed at reserving spaza shop ownership exclusively for South African citizens.
The draft legislation is nearing completion and follows concerns over illegal trade and undocumented foreign nationals operating within township economies.
The proposal comes amid increased regulation of spaza shops after foodborne illness outbreaks reported in 2024 and 2025.
The government has already intensified inspections and registration processes for spaza shops across the country.
uMkhonto weSizwe Party MP Carol Mafagane says the bill is intended to promote economic inclusion.
“As MKP, we acknowledge the provision of the NDP, which recognises the important role of the state in driving inclusive economic development. Through this bill, we are proposing a measured intervention by the state to support a greater inclusion, particularly for those who have been historically marginalised and excluded from ownership and opportunity…” Mafagane says.
She says the proposal is not aimed at exclusion but at expanding participation in the economy.
“Through this Bill, we are proposing a measured intervention by the State to support a greater inclusion, particularly for those who have been historically marginalised and excluded from ownership and opportunity. Our aim is to encourage a broader and more equitable ownership pattern, while ensuring that more South African… Africans are able to participate meaningfully in the economy. This intervention is not about exclusion or about creating uh uh unfair or fair access. It’s restoring the dignity and enabling more people to enjoy economic freedom within their lifetimes.”
The party argues that there are gaps in enforcement and oversight within the sector.
“And also, it would be inaccurate to assume that all activities in the township economy are contributing positively and fairly to local development. And also recently, what we found, what we’ve heard at the ad hoc committee and the Madlanga Commission.”
Mafagane says the bill seeks to regulate what she describes as a “grey area” in the economy.
“We are introducing the law to regulate that kind of area, because it has been a grey area to be biased to South Africans, and we want to attach its purposefulness, interpretation, consistent with what was in the mind of the legislators. That section of the Constitution can always be limited by law of general application.”
The party maintains that spaza shop ownership should be restricted to citizens.
Legal experts have previously raised concerns that restricting sectors by nationality could face constitutional challenges, particularly around the right to choose a trade.
Spotlight on spaza shops, township economy
