President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Thursday visits to spaza shops by multi-disciplinary inspection teams have resulted in more than 1000 being closed down.
Speaking during his annual address to the National Council of Provinces, Ramaphosa said many South Africans get their food from spaza shops and informal traders, which were an important part of township and rural economies.
“They provide residents with convenience and value. However, the recent spate of food-borne illnesses has highlighted the several risks associated with these enterprises,” he said.
However, the president said the tragic deaths of a number of children after eating food from some of these outlets required urgent and decisive action to prevent the contamination of food by harmful substances, particularly pesticides that were being sold unlawfully.
Two weeks ago, Ramaphosa said the spaza shops implicated in the deaths of children will be closed with immediate effect and ordered spaza shops and other food handling facilities to be registered within municipalities within 21 days.
Ramaphosa said since his announcement two weeks ago, multi-disciplinary teams have been conducting inspections of spaza shops across the country.
"Nearly 200 000 spaza shops have been visited. More than 1000 spaza shops, supermarkets and warehouses have been closed down. Large quantities of goods have been confiscated and numerous fines have been issued for violations of by-laws,” he said.
Ramaphosa told delegates to the NCOP that food was among the most basic of human needs as nearly a quarter of households considered their access to food as inadequate or severely inadequate.
“While the steep rise in food inflation since the Covid pandemic has eased over the last few months, consumers are yet to feel the effects in their pockets.
“Among the measures to ensure that all South Africans have affordable access to sufficient food, the government is looking at whether the basket of food items that is exempted from VAT could be expanded to include more basic products.”
He said the parties in the Government of National Unity (GNU) have committed themselves to inclusive economic growth and accelerated job creation.
“They have committed themselves to reduce poverty and tackle the high cost of living. And, to advance these priorities, the parties to the Government of National Unity have committed themselves to build a capable, ethical and developmental state,” he said.
Ramaphosa said progress has been made in lifting millions of South Africans out of absolute poverty.
“We have made progress on many fronts, but we have also confronted severe constraints and challenges to our development,” he said.
“As we work to rebuild the economy, to create more employment and open opportunities for emerging businesses, we continue to assist the poorest and most vulnerable in our society.
Ramaphosa said social grants remained a lifeline for millions of people. “While there will always be people who need support – such as the elderly, children and persons with disabilities – our aim must be to steadily move as many social grant recipients as possible into sustainable livelihoods.”
He stated that another challenge the country had to confront was energy poverty.
“The cost of building new generating capacity, combined with the effects of state capture and mismanagement, has contributed to a steady rise in the cost of electricity for consumers.
“Even now, Nersa is considering an application from Eskom for tariff increases that will put a further strain on households and businesses.”
He said it was vital to settle on a tariff path that enabled Eskom to achieve financial sustainability while not placing an undue burden on consumers.
Ramaphosa was confident that the reforms in the electricity sector will improve energy security and lower the cost of electricity.
Cape Times