On Tuesday, 3 December, the City of Ekurhuleni held a special City Planning Section 79 Committee meeting to consider a new Spaza Policy for Ekurhuleni. This item initially skipped the committee, and it is dubious as to whether public participation was done correctly, which is why it was brought back to the committee for consideration.
It is clear that in the light of children dying across the country after eating contaminated snacks from spaza shops that are poorly regulated, there is suddenly political will to resolve this challenge.
We will be sending through our recommendations to the committee today. ActionSA has been clear throughout our #Spaza4Locals campaign that this sector needs more participation and protection for local South Africans who wish to own and operate Spaza shops.
As a constructive opposition, we do not disagree with the intention to improve and formalise regulations in the informal spaza shop sector and ensure that food and health regulations are correctly followed. Any efforts to improve oversight in this regard, we welcome.
However, the policy says little regarding protecting South Africans in this sector and does not seek to weed out illegal foreigners who have entered and dominated this market and care very little about the lives of South African children, when clearly, they have very little ties to our communities.
We do not believe that South Africans are uncompetitive in this market, but rather foreign, undocumented migrants have been able to create profit by skipping basic health and safety regulations such as throwing out expired goods.
For this reason, unless this new policy outlines a plan to assist locals and weed out illegal elements in this industry in Ekurhuleni, the policy will not enjoy our support, and we will petition vigorously in council to gain support from other parties in this regard.
ActionSA Ekurhuleni Insists New Spaza Shop Regulations Must Exclude Illegal Foreigners
On Tuesday, 3 December, the City of Ekurhuleni held a special City Planning Section 79 Committee meeting to consider a new Spaza Policy for Ekurhuleni. This item initially skipped the committee, and it is dubious as to whether public participation was done correctly, which is why it was brought back to the committee for consideration.
It is clear that in the light of children dying across the country after eating contaminated snacks from spaza shops that are poorly regulated, there is suddenly political will to resolve this challenge.
We will be sending through our recommendations to the committee today. ActionSA has been clear throughout our #Spaza4Locals campaign that this sector needs more participation and protection for local South Africans who wish to own and operate Spaza shops.
As a constructive opposition, we do not disagree with the intention to improve and formalise regulations in the informal spaza shop sector and ensure that food and health regulations are correctly followed. Any efforts to improve oversight in this regard, we welcome.
However, the policy says little regarding protecting South Africans in this sector and does not seek to weed out illegal foreigners who have entered and dominated this market and care very little about the lives of South African children, when clearly, they have very little ties to our communities.
We do not believe that South Africans are uncompetitive in this market, but rather foreign, undocumented migrants have been able to create profit by skipping basic health and safety regulations such as throwing out expired goods.
For this reason, unless this new policy outlines a plan to assist locals and weed out illegal elements in this industry in Ekurhuleni, the policy will not enjoy our support, and we will petition vigorously in council to gain support from other parties in this regard.