Over 51,000 Spaza Shops Registered Since President Ramaphosa’s Order, South Africans Question Figure
- Over 51,000 spaza shops have been officially registered in the country ahead of the looming deadline
- President Cyril Ramaphosa ordered that all spaza shops needed to be registered by 13 December
- South Africans have weighed in on the massive amount of spaza shops that operate in the country
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Over 51,000 spaza shops have been registered nationwide since President Cyril Ramaphosa’s directive, but the figure has raised many questions among South Africans.
Social media users wonder how many of these stores were operating before if they were not correctly registered.
Spaza shops were forced to register their businesses by 13 December.
800 spaza shops closed down
Spaza shop owners were ordered to register their businesses again following a directive by Ramaphosa after the spate of food-borne illnesses in the country.
With the registration deadline drawing closer, African National Congress (ANC) Secretary General Fikile Mbalula confirmed that 51,788 shops were registered, while 800 were closed due to non-compliance. 93% of the closed shops were foreign-owned.
South Africans question registration figure
The number of shops already registered surprised many social media users, with some questioning how many were foreign-owned. Others wondered whether they were operating legally before the president’s order.
Zacky Macaire asked:
“So, these spaza shops have been operating just like hawkers, except that they operate from inside a building? I've always been under the impression that they were registered. Now, Children had to die first before the registration could happen. Which government ministry was responsible for ensuring all these hawkers are registered, or was it not a requirement?”
Keke Da Gold questioned:
“How are you, as an illegal immigrant, able to register a tuck shop?”
Ruksana Ally said:
“Now multiply that by the amount you must pay to register, and it gives the government more free money to steal. The rule should have been that they must go instead of this.”
Eileen Modipadi Nkgabane stated:
“The 800 will start operating soon via backdoor connections.”
Bro Sphola said:
“ANC looters will benefit from this criminal registration. How can an illegal immigrant register the so-called legal business? Maybe I lost something, but under the ANC rule, illegality never means criminality.”
Serame Sereke added:
“51,070 owned by foreign nationals who came here for a ten-day vacation, and now it is ten years, and they never left. 88 owned by South Africans, and the ANC government welcomes this great work.”
1,000 businesses already closed
In a related article, Cyril Ramaphosa revealed that over 1000 spaza shops, warehouses and supermarkets have been shut down.
Briefly News reported that it came after he addressed the nation and called on spaza shops to re-register to comply with the laws.
Over 1,000 cases of food poisoning have been reported, which prompted the government to declare a national disaster.
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Source: Briefly News
