-
[File photo] A man looks at an item before buying at a spaza shop in Thembisa, on the East Rand, in South Africa, August 2, 2023.
The Gauteng government has announced plans to overhaul by-laws for municipal regulation of township tuck shops.
This follows multiple foodborne illness cases that resulted in the hospitalisation of hundreds of children and 23 deaths across the province, reportedly linked to snacks bought at these shops.
Gauteng Provincial spokesperson Vuyo Mhaga says the revised by-laws would apply to all traders in townships.
“It will be about really, not necessarily spaza shops, actually all traders in the townships. You find that in Ekurhuleni they’ve got their own by-laws, the way they do things. In Tshwane, they’ve got their own by-laws, in Johannesburg they’ve got their own by-laws.”
Mhaga further outlined the goal for uniform by-laws to streamline enforcement and ensure consistency.
“Now for the police enforcement, now they have to find a way to adapt depending on the area but if you’ve got a uniform by-law, everyone must understand if you trade in Gauteng, you need to get permission from the municipality. You need to produce this type of product in a type of an area, you need to employ so many South Africans, and you’ve got a quota of foreign nationals that can operate in that space and how many spaza shops can be in one space.”
PODCAST | The full interview on municipalities enforcing by-laws governing spaza shops:
