Home Affairs at fault for missed SPAZA shop registration deadline

Friday, 28 February 2025, was the final deadline for spaza shop registration for all informal traders. When this deadline came and went, the Gauteng MEC for Finance and Economic Development Lebogang Maile confirmed, with no exception, that all non-compliant traders would be shutdown.

However, immigrant shop owners – who are the overwhelming majority of informal traders in South Africa – say the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) was not forthcoming with asylum-seeker documents, reports GroundUp.

The spaza shop registration deadline was enacted last year after 24 children died from eating poisoned/expired food. So pervasive was the scourge that President Cyril Ramaphosa took to addressing the nation publicly. Initially a 21-day deadline was extended to the last spaza shop registration deadline. However, Nelson Mandela Bay Mayoral Committee member for Public Health, Thsonono Buyeye, calls the response ‘extremely disappointing.’

SPAZA SHOP REGISTRATION DEADLINE

In the Eastern Cape, there are 1 637 spaza shops in the metro, but only 293 (17%) submitted correct applications before the spaza shop registration deadline. Of the 1 136 applications received, 843 (73%) were incomplete, rendering them invalid. Moreover, applicants were informed of the deficiencies of their applications but failed to correct them in time. Buyeye says her department went all out to raise awareness and guide owners on compliance. 90% of spaza shops in the Nelson Mandela Bay area are immigrant-run.

However, Chris Mapingure of the Zimbabwe Migrants Support Network paints a different picture. He says many immigrant traders could not meet the deadline because they did not have the right documentation from Home Affairs. Specifically, asylum-seeker permits from the DHA, which were not renewed in time.

LEGAL AND HEALTH REQUIREMENTS

Registration was contingent on meeting legal and health requirements. This includes verification of immigration status and inspection of premises for adherence to health and zoning regulations. Thousands of inspections checking food safety and training for food handlers, pest control and fire safety certification were done. Finally, there was the payment of a business licence processing fees.

However, the South African Spaza-Shops Association says limited access to formal finance systems made fee payment difficult. Also, many landlords did not present their title deeds knowing that the locations were not correctly zoned for business operations. In response to the missed spaza shop registration deadline, the association has instead asked government to introduce a phased approach. It would like to see spaza shops first register with initial requirements focusing on health and food safety compliance. And then focus on immigration status, land zoning and business licences as part of a more flexible registration process.