Spaza shop owners in Gqeberha lament 21 day registration deadline

Spaza shop owners in Gqeberha have begun the registration process to ensure they comply with the health and safety standards within the 21 days stipulated by President Cyril Ramaphosa.

Since September, 890 incidents of food-borne illnesses have been reported nationwide, with Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal leading the field.

Spaza owners says the 21 day deadline for registration as businesses is too short.

Spaza shop owners were queueing from as early as 7am to get information and documentation from the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro Municipality. Whilst they are responding to comply, they are appealing for more time.

“We don’t have a problem with complying with what the President has said, in fact we welcome it, but we just think that the time he has given to us is just too small. One of the requirements that we have a problem with is the issue of zoning, how can we be zoned when most of us have small shops, which are within small houses that belong to South Africans, how is even going to work.”

“We really want to make sure that we comply, but there is just no way that we can do all of this in 21 days. There is a lot that they have asked from us, we just won’t be able to do it all. Please can the President give us more time.”

MMC for Human Settlements and the councilor for Ward 50, Thembinkosi Mafaya says efforts have been under way for a while now to improve health and safety standards at spaza shops.

“Even before the directive came from the President’s office, we have been having meetings once every month with spaza owners in this ward to ensure that they are selling food that’s healthy and that their stores are also kept clean. We have been doing random spot checks, also checking that on top of complying to health and safety standards, the foreign nationals are documented.”

Residents in the metro says access to spaza shops makes their lives a lot easier.

“We really find the spaza shops so useful, cause most of us in the townships don’t have cars to be able to go to shops like Shoprite, so with the spaza shops we can get what we want, at a cheaper rate. At times we do get scared that the food may be off, but what choice do we have.”

“I love the spaza shops. the owner, papa, is always willing to help us. Even if you don’t have money, they give you on credit and you pay month end.”

The Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality is rolling out its registration and information drive throughout the metro.