The Gauteng government's plan to act on new by-laws and enforce stricter regulations for spaza shops has been welcomed in the wake of recent food poisoning incidents. While the steps may be necessary to address the crisis, spaza shop owners, civil society and political parties are concerned about capacity constraints.

Listen to this article 11 min Listen to this article 11 min With more than 441 food contamination incidents allegedly linked to spaza shops that have killed 23 people, mostly children, since the beginning of the year, Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi's announcement that new by-laws and stricter regulations will govern how spaza shops are operated in the province has been widely welcomed.

The by-laws, which Lesufi said had been formally adopted, will focus heavily on comprehensive inspections, the enforcement of stricter health and safety protocols and the re-registration of spaza shops.

Speaking on eNCA, Lesufi said the provincial government had given itself a deadline of 1 December to re-register spaza shops. Once the deadline has passed, shops without a licence will not be permitted to operate.

The government plans to regulate the critical industry, which has operated relatively unchecked for the past three decades, while also being sensitive to the disruption the enforcement of the by-laws would have on the income and access to essential foods for largely vulnerable and marginalised communities.

The announcement of the new by-laws and increased focus on enforcement has raised some concern among civil society organisations and spaza shop owners. This was only exacerbated...