Gauteng Closes Over 540 Non-Compliant Shops
By Thabo Mosia
Gauteng authorities have shut down more than 540 spaza shops operating without proper documentation or failing to meet environmental health standards. This action aligns with President Cyril Ramaphosa’s directive mandating all spaza shops and food-handling facilities to register with their respective municipalities by 13 December 2024.
Government’s Stance on Non-Compliance
Gauteng’s Acting Premier, Lebogang Maile, emphasized the government’s commitment to upholding human rights and ensuring consumer safety. He stated, “Non-compliant businesses include those without Companies and Intellectual Property Commission registration, which is a legal requirement for operating a business in South Africa.” Additional violations leading to closures involved the absence of certificates of acceptability from environmental health authorities and failure to obtain operating licenses from municipalities. Maile further noted that businesses operating from unsafe premises or within hazardous environments were also subject to closure.
Registration Drive and Compliance Efforts
The provincial government has intensified efforts to ensure compliance among spaza shop owners. As of 10 December 2024, over 13,000 application forms for spaza shop registrations had been issued, with approximately 2,000 submissions identified as incomplete due to missing critical supporting documents. Notably, around 2,600 applications were submitted by foreign national spaza shop owners, primarily from the City of Tshwane, Ekurhuleni, West Rand District Municipality, and Sedibeng District Municipality.
To streamline the registration process and reduce bureaucratic hurdles, three municipalities—the City of Johannesburg, City of Tshwane, and City of Ekurhuleni—have digitized their application procedures. Other municipalities are in various stages of implementing similar digital systems. This initiative aims to facilitate easier compliance for business owners while ensuring adherence to health and safety regulations.
Catalyst for Stringent Measures
The government’s stringent measures were prompted by a series of tragic incidents involving food-borne illnesses that have claimed the lives of at least 23 children across the country. Investigations revealed that the children died after consuming contaminated snacks purchased from illegal spaza shops operated by undocumented foreigners. Hazardous pesticide chemicals, including Terbufos and Aldicarb, were found in the snacks consumed by the children, highlighting severe lapses in food safety standards.
National Response and Future Actions
In response to these incidents, President Ramaphosa announced decisive measures, including the immediate closure of spaza shops implicated in the deaths and stricter regulations to protect communities. He mandated that all spaza shops and food-handling facilities must register with their respective municipalities within 21 days, warning that any shop not registered within this period and not meeting all health standards and requirements would be closed. 
The government has also activated multidisciplinary response teams, including detectives from the South African Police Service, health officials, environmental inspectors, and officials from the National Consumer Commission, to address the incidents. The National Institute for Communicable Diseases conducted scientific tests and established that the deaths of six children in Naledi, Soweto, could be directly attributed to Terbufos, a highly hazardous chemical used as a pesticide. 
Community Engagement and Compliance
Authorities have called on community members to report shops selling expired goods or operating without proper documentation. Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi urged residents to check expiration dates when purchasing groceries and to report any violations to the appropriate authorities.
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