The Alfred Duma Local Municipality, Mayor Cllr Zama Sibisi, warns the public not to register businesses for foreign nationals because this will lead to dire consequences.
This warning comes after a widespread social media claim that citizens could register spaza shops for foreigners in exchange for money. Numerous reports have been reported that South Africans are trading their properties and allowing undocumented foreigners to use them for business purposes.
The municipality forms part of the national call to visit all the spaza shops operating within our jurisdiction where we will be conducting inspections and that unregistered shops would be closed within 21 days if they failed to meet health standards. This initiative aims to address recurring foodborne illnesses that have claimed the lives of children across the country in recent months. South Africans have put out a loud call and urged the government to intervene, blaming it for not regulating local businesses, which they believe has contributed to these tragedies.
Those South Africans who are registering business on behalf of the foreign nationals will be liable for the business improper conduct and for putting themselves and a country at risk because if there is an accident, you will be held accountable. As the municipality, we would like to assure the public that relevant stakeholders will deploy building inspectors, environmental health officers, business license inspectors and by-law enforcement officers to oversee the registration process as well as to inspect all the spaza shops within the Alfred Duma Local Municipality.