Hlabisa clarifies deadline for spaza shops’ registration

Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa says that the deadline for the registration of spaza shops, as President Cyril Ramaphosa has directed, will expire next week Tuesday and not tomorrow.

This comes as small businesses express frustration with the process. They say red tape within the municipalities has made the process challenging.

Hlabisa has apologised for the confusion.

He says, “I want to firstly apologise for any miscommunication that might have caused confusion, 21 days expire on Tuesday, the 17th, not tomorrow because you count the working days. ”

“The President made the announcement on Friday evening, and the first working day was Monday of that following week, and then Monday next week, the 16th is a public holiday, you can’t count it, 21 days therefore lapses on Tuesday.”

PODCAST: Interview with Hlabisa on SA fm’s The Morning Brief programme on spaza shops’ registration: