Can Joburg close non-compliant spaza shops? Inside public safety MMC's plans to ensure compliance

Closing spaza shops is often difficult because residents complain

The City of Johannesburg is devising a plan to phase out non-compliant spaza shops and will probably start in Naledi, Soweto. 

This is according to the MMC of public safety Dr Mgcini Tshwaku, who has roped in former MMC and chief of the JMPD David Tembe.

Tshwaku said they have spoken with the premier of Gauteng to help them with environmental health inspectors. 

“We have spoken to the premier to say that their environmental health practitioners who are ready and are at home sitting, we need to get them on board because they were working during Covid-19.

“We need them to come on board as we are going to roll out this compliance,” he said. 

Tshwaku inspected Devland Cash & Carry with city officials on Tuesday to ensure the store was complying with the city's bylaws. The inspection was supported by a multidisciplinary team from EMS, environmental health and development planning.

The visit was part of the city's commitment to ensuring public safety and consumer protection, particularly about the sale of safe, quality food to the community. He said working with ward councillors, health inspectors and community members they can implement a phased-in approach in certain areas, calling for people to reapply and comply. 

Tshwaku said that closing non-compliant spaza shops is often difficult because residents eventually complain. 

“You will close them but within seven days, the community themselves will want them to be open because they get their essentials there.”

He said spaza shop owners were paying rent to homeowners so if the shops were closed, the income is lost.

“We will probably do a pilot run around Naledi with the manpower that we have. I know the province and the national [government] want to come on board as well [to see] how we going to do it,” Tshwaku said.   

Tembe said at the beginning of November they will launch units consisting of JMPD officials, EMS, environmental inspectors and health inspectors going out to do inspections every day. 

“Law enforcement is about consistency, about changing the mindsets of the people — and not punishing them. We are going to formulate that and ensure that it is not a one-off activity.

“Look we are here today and tomorrow we won't be but if we can have a special unit dedicated to these spaza shops we are going to have a different outcome,” Tembe said. 

He said they have inspectors but the problem was that inspectors couldn't go to those spaza shops by themselves without security. He said the unit consisting of JMPD officials, probably four in a team, won't do anything else but escort the inspectors. 

He said the regional JMPD officials will subsequently monitor the spaza shops that are closed down after the inspections. 

“We will rope in Sars to ensure that all those spazas are tax compliant. They [inspectors] need protection from us hence we can have four Metro police because they carry firearms. Inspectors don't carry firearms,” Tembe said. 

He said they are going to have a special unit and they will be consistent. He said they can even have more than 10 units that go out specifically focusing on inspections. “We have resources to do that and there will be a change after the launch,” Tembe said. 

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