- Municipal inspectors and law enforcement officers in Tzaneen close shops they say used false papers after checking registrations, health rules and safety standards.
- Doctor Mikia Ramothwala opens a shop in Botshabelo and says he wants to create jobs after speaking out about foreign owners running local spaza shops.
Families in Tzaneen say they want safe food on their tables, and the municipality says it is acting for them. The Greater Tzaneen Municipality in Limpopo is closing spaza shops it says are running without proper papers.
The push comes after President Cyril Ramaphosa called for every shop to be registered. His call followed the deaths of children last year after they ate expired food bought from local spaza shops.
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For months, municipal inspectors have visited shops across the region. They check health and safety rules and look at documents. On the latest visits, the local economic development team worked with law enforcement officers to close shops they say are using fake certificates.
Officials say the shops are run by foreign owners who present false registration papers. These owners are taken to Letsitele Police Station. Police say they are held for breaking the Limpopo Business Registration Act.
The clean-up has sparked strong views from some South Africans. One of them is medical doctor Mikia Ramothwala from Tzaneen. He has spoken out about foreign nationals running small shops and questions why this is allowed when he says many countries would not allow South Africans to run spaza shops there.
Ramothwala has opened his own shop in Botshabelo, the village where he grew up. He also runs a bakery and sells fruit and vegetables. He says he wants to create jobs for families and young people. "I opened the shop so that my relatives and community members can have jobs," he said.
Last week, he received more than one thousand comments after saying his shop made a profit of R45,000 in October. He says October is not even the best month.
