PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa and the government have been criticised and slammed over the registration deadline for spaza shops.
The National Africa Federated Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Nafcoc) said the decision was “impulsive”.
The SA National Christian Forum (SANCF) said the deadline was unfair and not clear enough to be met in 21 days.
Ramaphosa last month set a 21-day deadline for spaza shop registration.
The period ended on Tuesday, December 17.
The President’s directive came as the country grapples with suspected food contaminations, which killed several children in the townships.
Nafcoc president Gilbert Mosena said the decision was doomed from inception. If pursued further, it could bring about more woes than merely a foreign national-dominated register that it has produced to date.
Mosena said with all its wisdom and might, the government failed to execute such an undertaking without the participation of the most affected stakeholders—spaza shop owners and the affected communities.
He described the decision as unfortunate, ill-conceived, and unjust, pointing out that the tight timeframe had placed undue strain on spaza shop owners and was exacerbating existing operational challenges for local authorities.
Mosena said the registration system’s frequent downtime and operational issues have added further pressure on shop owners, undermining the government’s objectives of ensuring food safety and regulation.
Mosena pointed out the importance of understanding the history and sensibilities of black business owners, particularly in South Africa’s townships.
He explained that townships, created under apartheid, were designed to exclude black people from the economic activities of urban centres and that this cruel objective of apartheid persists.
He said despite the progress made since the end of apartheid, the legacy of economic exclusion remained deeply entrenched.
Nafcoc believed that policies, such as the response to the spaza shop crisis, needed to be sensitive to the historical context and challenges faced by black entrepreneurs. As a prerequisite, the government needs to be consultative and at all times seek to find lasting solutions with the people.
“This top-down approach undermines the efforts needed to address the root causes of the challenges within the informal economy,” Mosena said.
He said Nafcoc had repeatedly sought to engage with the government but to no avail.
However, on Wednesday, the government extended the registration process for spaza shops and other food-handling outlets to the end of February next year.
Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta), Velenkosini Hlabisa announced that a lot of work had been done over the 21 days of registration, but the work still needed to continue.
“Throughout South Africa, 392 registration centres were established in all nine provinces, and 42,915 applications were received between November 15 and yesterday (Tuesday) to be processed for people applying to operate spaza shops and other food handling outlets,” Hlabisa said.
Out of the 49,915 applications, 19,386 have been approved. We regard this as considerable progress over a period of 21 days,” he said.
“Noting the progress of work done, in consultation with the president, the government has resolved to extend the registration deadline for all spaza shops and other food-handling outlets to February 28, 2025.
“Prior to the revised deadline of February 28, 2025, the government in all its spheres will continue to implement the action plan to address the crisis of food-borne illnesses and the illicit trade of goods across the country,” he said.
Hlabisa said the businesses that had been duly registered still needed to undergo the process of getting trading licences.
Meanwhile, Mosena pointed out that the challenges of black people's participation in the informal sector were extremely sensitive and complex.
“It requires a more nuanced approach, one that considers inclusion in production, distribution, wholesale, financial service, logistics, and careful harnessing of consumer behaviour.
“It is for this reason that Nafcoc advocates for community ownership of spaza shops, which we believe is key to ensuring their long-term success and sustainability. It is for these reasons that we need meaningful engagement and cooperative solutions, not just regulatory measures that create more challenges,” Mosena said.
In the same breath, SANCF president Bishop Marothi Mashashane said they had visited a number of municipalities and to this day had no clear directive on how to implement the project.
“Firstly, it was never clear as to whether the 21-day period is inclusive of weekends or not. Secondly, after the announcement by the President, the municipalities were not ready to implement the process immediately; most people were turned back until the 27th of November, when forms were designed for applications, but even after they received forms, there were no directives on how to qualify or disqualify applicants,” he said.
Mashashane further said that some municipalities received applications but failed to issue any proof of receipt or acknowledgement letter. He said some did so without personalising the letter, which meant one letter could be utilised by many.
“And what about a person who owns more spaza shops? Does he have to apply for each shop or not? We have also witnessed more delays when foreign nationals were hindered from registering, and some offices closed off for days, some not open for no water either.
Until this day, there's no clear answer as to why spaza shops in the informal settlement are denied registration for lack of title deeds.
Meanwhile, communities are fully dependent on spaza shops, and therefore, the purpose of the excise seems to be missed because the initial purpose was to serve lives, including those in the informal settlement.
Some officials are using this to politicise by calling for foreign nationals' spaza shops to be reserved for citizens, forgetting that citizens did make this call, which resulted in the new word called xenophobia,” Mashashane said.
manyane.manyane@inl.co.za