Over 7,000 foreign nationals have submitted applications to register their spaza shops in Gauteng. This was revealed by Gauteng MEC for Finance and Economic Development, Lebogang Maile, yesterday at a media briefing.

MORE FOREIGNERS APPLIED FOR REGISTRATION IN EKURHULENI 

Maile said by Friday, 28 February 2025, the total number of applications for the registration by spaza shops and food-handling facilities across the province was 17,617, including 7,107 applications by foreign nationals. He said that Ekurhuleni received the highest number of applications by foreign nationals, at a total of 2,543 applications. Maile emphasised that foreign applicants were required to present valid documentation from the Home Affairs, which authorises them to operate businesses in the country. "The eligibility for a business visa, as per South African law, is that a foreign national must invest a prescribed amount of R5 million into an existing business or provide a business plan with evidence of R5 million capital contribution," he said. He acknowledged concerns raised by South Africans about the over-concentration of foreign-owned spaza shops in Gauteng townships and said that they did not ignore them. He added that his department has clamped down on illegal trade and undocumented foreign nationals operating spaza shops in townships. "This will continue beyond the closure of the registration drive to ensure that South African laws are not broken by foreign nationals seeking to conduct business within the borders of our country.?

OVER 400 SPAZA SHOPS CLOSED FOR NON-COMPLAINT

Maile told the media that a total of 29,116 inspections were conducted and more than 15,000 spaza shops and food-handling facilities were deemed non-compliant, and a total of 498 were closed with immediate effect. Of the 498, 243 were closed in Johannesburg, 48 in Tshwane, and five in Ekurhuleni. In November last year, President Cyril Ramaphosa ordered that all spaza shops and food-handling businesses be registered within 21 days, with the deadline of December 13 after the deaths of 23 children from suspected food-borne diseases after allegedly consuming toxic snacks from spaza shops. The deadline was later extended to 28 February. "The horrors of last year, when our children were hospitalised and killed due to foodborne illnesses, must never be repeated," said Maile.