City of Joburg warns of harsh penalties for shop owners who flout by-laws
This comes as part of a national plan to permanently eradicate foodborne illnesses linked to items purchased from local spaza shops.
Six children died after consuming chips bought from a spaza shop – understood to be owned by a foreign national - on Thlathlane Street in Naledi, Soweto. Picture: Jacques Nelles/Eyewitness News
JOHANNESBURG - The City of Johannesburg has issued a warning that spaza shop owners found flouting by-laws will face the harshest penalties.
This comes as part of a national plan to permanently eradicate foodborne illnesses linked to items purchased from local shops.
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Last week, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced new laws, overseen by the department of cooperative governance and traditional affairs, to tackle the recent wave of illnesses and deaths.
Acting Johannesburg mayor Eunice Mgcina was is in Diepsloot on Saturday as part of a team conducting raids to inspect stock, enforce by-laws, and ensure compliance.
Speaking to EWN, Mgcina admitted that the city is struggling to control the situation but says the new by-laws will strengthen their efforts.
"It would be a futile exercise, that we close shops, we get people arrested, and at the end of the day they come back to our communities and continue as normal. So, it’s really against what we believe in.”
Mgcina says today’s raids are part of a broader plan to end foodborne illnesses and related deaths once and for all.