Over 13,000 Spaza Shop Registration Forms Issued In Gauteng As Deadline Looms

With the spaza shop registration deadline approaching, 13,616 registration forms have been distributed to local and foreign owners in Gauteng since the process began on Nov. 15.

This follows President Cyril Ramaphosa's directive requiring all spaza shops and food-handling facilities to register with their municipalities within 21 days.

At a media briefing in Johannesburg, Gauteng Finance and Economic Development MEC, Lebogang Maile, provided an update on the registration progress. As of Dec. 10, 13,616 forms had been issued, and 1,916 had been returned, SA News reported.

However, some returned applications were incomplete and lacked essential supporting documents.

As of now, 2,605 applications have been submitted by non-South African spaza shop owners in areas like the City of Tshwane, Ekurhuleni, West Rand District Municipality, and Sedibeng District Municipality, according to Maile.

Ongoing discussions with township commercial property owners have helped increase the number of registrations. The registration process has been simplified to avoid bureaucratic delays while ensuring compliance.

Furthermore, three municipalities—Johannesburg, Tshwane, and Ekurhuleni—have made the application process digital, and other municipalities are working on digitizing it. Municipalities are also in the process of creating by-laws for spaza shop ownership, with many adopting a draft model standard by-law.

Since the call to register spaza shops within 21 days, the Gauteng Provincial Government has set up registration centers in all five regions.

A total of 85 registration centers have been established, and their locations, along with the required documents for registration, have been shared through various media platforms, including social media, commercial media, community media and government channels.

Outreach programs have also been launched to speed up registrations and spread information, reaching over 15,000 spaza shops across all regions. Maile reported that 541 spaza shops have been closed for failing to comply with regulations.

Non-compliant businesses include those without registration from the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC), missing certificates of acceptability from Environmental Health, unpaid operating licenses from municipalities, and businesses operating in hazardous conditions.

Maile explained that many applicants are missing important documents, such as approved internal floor layout plans, building plans, consent use permits and certificates for acceptance and fire safety. Business owners have been advised to gather these documents to move their applications forward.

Furthermore, some businesses are operating from informal dwellings in areas that aren't officially recognized, and these owners must wait for a directive from the Department of Human Settlements. Spaza shop owners have been urged to submit their registration applications before the deadline on Dec. 13.