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1 month ago
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Small Business Development Minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams. (Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams/X)
- Small Business Development Minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams has announced a plan to assist spaza shops after efforts to regulate the industry following the deaths of children from poisoned food.
- She has revealed a R500 million stimulus fund for the industry will start being rolled out within two weeks.
- Ndabeni-Abrahams says the government will be strict on compliance in relation to the registration of such shops.
In just two weeks' time, some spaza shops and township convenience stores will be getting a helping hand from the government by way of a half-a-billion rand fund.
Furthermore, assistance of R10 000 per business will be extended to start-ups who have trained their sights on an opportunity in their communities, said Small Business Development Minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams.
Ndabeni-Abrahams made the announcement on Sunday, 107 days since President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that all spaza shops and food handling outlets had to be registered against the backdrop of several incidents of food poisoning and deaths.
Registration closed on Friday, 28 February.
READ | Race against time: Spaza owners frustrated by challenges as registration deadline looms
Announcing the R500 million fund, to be launched later this month, Ndabeni-Abrahams said R150 million came from her department while R350 million would be sponsored by the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition.
The plan and the fund aim to:
- Link spaza shops and food handling outlets to buying groups for bulk purchasing;
- Build business capacity through training and support to improve shops' operations;
- Boost market competitiveness to help spaza shops and food handling outlets to compete with bigger retailers;
- Ensure there is a national rollout to help the shops across big townships; and
- Disburse R10 000 aid to start-ups so they "can test the market".
Ndabeni-Abrahams said the department would lead awareness campaigns in all 52 districts and metros across South Africa.
The minister clarified that reaching the deadline for the registration period didn't necessarily mean the teething problems were over, nor did it mean the sector was now fully regulated.
Ndabeni-Abrahams said the registration drive's objectives were twofold: making sure there is compliance with all food safety standards, and to rebuild a more competitive and compliant small business sector in the country.
Businesses that were found to be not compliant would be closed, she said.
Ndabeni-Abrahams stressed that whether one was South African or not, "compliance is compliance" and the government would be strict on it.
At question time, Ndabeni-Abrahams said:
[For example] if you're illegal in South Africa, it means that you must go back home and start the process afresh of applying to come back before doing business, and it's an opportunity for a South African that knows how to run a spaza shop.
Ndabeni-Abrahams urged entrepreneurs to get up to speed with compliance and the relevant legislation.
"Let our economy go back to its rightful owners, but also let's appreciate that the rights we enjoy come with the responsibilities that are enshrined in our Constitution and the regulation environment that we set for ourselves," Ndabeni-Abrahams said.
Bureaucracy
Ndabeni-Abrahams said the regulatory space needed to be streamlined, and her department had gone on a red tape reduction blitz to include "practical solutions". This, she said, would include the department's officials assisting municipalities with e-registration systems. She said the department would appoint 61 people to ensure the plan was implemented at municipal level.
"There is a need to reinforce capabilities at local government," she said.
She added that when legislation is passed, it doesn't always translate at local level where the actual government work is done.
Ndabeni-Abrahams said her department was "beginning to insert ourselves as the authority" responsible for small business.
"Our amended National Business Licensing Bill, once approved and implemented, will provide clarity, consistency, and transparency in business licensing, enabling businesses to thrive and contribute to the country's economic growth and development," Ndabeni-Abrahams said.
