In response to recent cases of suspected food poisoning, ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula stated that they would address the safety issues surrounding spaza outlets.
Speaking to the media at an ANC event in Johannesburg commemorating Albertina Nontsikelelo Sisulu’s legacy on Monday, Mbalula emphasised the pressing need to address difficulties related to food safety.
This announcement follows a distressing event in Soweto where six children died after eating suspected tainted treats from a spaza business.
Because of the community’s fury, foreign-owned spaza shops in townships have been accused of selling unsafe and outdated food items.
As a result of the public outrage, some spaza shops in Soweto’s Vaal and Naledi neighbourhoods have closed due to looting.
From February to September, Gauteng recorded 207 cases of food poisoning, raising concerns about food safety standards in township shops.
Mbalula said this issue would be addressed and provide answers to residents.
“We are going to intervene in a big way with regard to spaza shop issues. We are in charge, we are a government, and where we are in charge, there must be laws that must be respected and enforced. If the State is weak, the masses will take the law into their hands.
“We need to work with the police using the laws of the country to ensure that we deal with this challenge.
“It is a law enforcement part, but on the other hand, it’s a bigger challenge of a business being supported on the ground,” he said.
Mbalula stressed that even in his hometown, most of the spaza shops were in the hands of foreigners who were accused of selling cheaper goods to the people but “at the same time, some are poisonous”.
The secretary-general questioned the source and quality of the food items sold to the public.
Meanwhile, Gauteng Finance MEC Lebogang Maile mentioned that the issue of foreign-owned stores was a national one that needed the police and the Department of Home Affairs to intervene.
He visited Boipatong in the Vaal which was affected by the recent looting and violence directed at spaza shops.
Maile is expected to visit Bronkhorstspruit on Tuesday. This is a result of growing public health concerns emerging from foreign-owned spaza shops.
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