Maile vows to shut down fake spaza shops once and for all
Gauteng Finance MEC Lebogang Maile has issued a bold warning: the government will crack down on foreign nationals who bully local spaza shop owners into shutting down their businesses.
This follows claims from local spaza shop owners accusing foreigners of intimidation, insisting they halt operations under the pretense that the businesses rightfully belong to them.
Spaza shop registrations are in full swing nationwide, and Maile has assured that, if necessary, the government will step up with all the resources needed to protect South Africans and ensure their safety.
He encouraged locals to speak up and report such incidents, promising swift intervention.
“Our duty is to shield our citizens from criminal acts, and we take that responsibility seriously. We’re ready to deploy additional resources to ensure their safety,” he declared.
Many shop owners have raised concerns, arguing that the deadline is too tight, leaving them scrambling to gather and submit their necessary documents on time.
On Thursday, Maile shared the latest developments on food-handling facilities and the spaza shop registration process in Johannesburg, providing key updates for the province.
Maile revealed a significant surge in applications from foreign nationals eager to operate spaza shops, now exceeding 2,800.
Just ten days ago, 13,616 spaza shop application forms had been issued. Thanks to growing public participation, that number has skyrocketed to 21,172 a remarkable increase of over 7,000.
Maile announced that a total of 10,389 application forms have been successfully submitted across Gauteng’s municipalities.
“During our initial media briefing, 1,916 applications were returned due to missing documentation,” he added, highlighting the ongoing progress in the process.
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