By Mark Ogagan
Several foreign-owned spaza shops have been closed in Johannesburg’s South West Township (Soweto), after they were found with expired food items and non-labelled goods.
City of Johannesburg officials together with the police raided spaza shops in Dobsonville and Diepkloof on Friday.
The raids follow incidents of foodborne illnesses that have claimed the lives of more than 20 children in the past few months.
It has been found that some of the children fell ill after consuming snacks allegedly bought from local spaza shops. The latest death is that of a 5-year-old from Diepkloof.
Officials were busy moving from one spaza shop to another during the raids, where law enforcement uncovered live ammunition and other illegal items at one of the shops.
City of Joburg Economic Development MMC Nomoya Mnisi led the operation. “We closed down all four spaza shops. In the first one that we went to we discovered live ammunition. SAPS was here with us and they did indicate what firearms the ammunition is used for. The big boss did have papers to be here legally, but the employees did not.”
Five spaza shops, four in Dobsonvile and one in Diepkloof were closed down for not complying with the City’s by-laws. Expired products were also confiscated. There are also reports that another child fell ill in Diepkloof and was rushed to the local clinic after allegedly consuming snacks from a spaza.
“We have just spoken to the mother of the child who is at Bara. She indicated that the child is critical. So the situation is becoming dire.”
Meanwhile, some foreign nationals have accused locals of looting their shops after officials had left. This shop owner who refused to be named due to fear of intimidation says, “They have taken everything. When the police came and asked for the papers and to verify them, I went to the police station. When I came back they had looted.”
Mnisi says they will expand the operations to other areas of the city.
The post Foreign-owned spaza shops closed in Soweto over expired, illegal goods appeared first on Amatropics.