A growing concern over contraband goods sold in township spaza shops has sparked widespread outrage, particularly after recent cases of poisoning claimed the lives of six children in Soweto and left many others hospitalised.
Similar incidents have since taken place across the country with the latest involving the tragic death of 11-year-old Lesedi Mulaudi after allegedly consuming poisonous snacks purchased from a foreign owned spaza shop in Alexandra, north of Johannesburg, at the weekend.
The Star recently reported that her mother, Maria, and her four-year-old sister, Fentse, who also ingested the same snacks, are recovering in hospital.
Research conducted by Sustainable Livelihoods Foundation and SME South Africa has revealed that foreign-owned spaza shops are exploiting loopholes in the system to import and sell contraband goods, including expired or counterfeit products.
“We noted with concern that the role of foreign shops is to provide access to contraband goods,” said SME South Africa, highlighting the alarming trend.
According to the organisations, the illicit goods are often procured through complex supply chain networks, bypassing local suppliers and regulatory authorities.
Foreign-run spaza shops rely on collective purchasing power, ethnic business networking, and price discounting to secure favourable terms from wholesalers and manufacturers.
“Each business benefits from a procurement and distribution chain that supports multiple stores, reducing transport costs and ensuring an uninterrupted supply of merchandise,” the research found.
The consequences of this contraband trade are dire. Children have fallen ill after consuming food and snacks purchased from these shops, sparking community-led efforts to forcefully close foreign-owned businesses.
Experts warn that addressing the root causes of this issue requires strengthening regulatory frameworks, improving inspection and enforcement, and supporting local businesses.
“Local spaza shop owners struggle to compete, often operating part-time and relying on family labour. In contrast, foreign-run shops operate full-time, employing staff under conditions akin to bonded labour,” the research reveals.
SME called for the enhancing of regulatory frameworks to prevent contraband goods and improving inspection and enforcement mechanisms while supporting local businesses through training and access to finance initiatives.
Recently, the public, together with the government and organisations, have called for urgent action to return the R900 billion spaza-shop business back to locals.
Small Business Development Deputy Minister, Jane Sithole, has reportedly called on South Africans wishing to own spaza shops to reclaim the concept.
She urged locals to approach the department to help open their own shops.
“The spaza shop is a South African concept and now it has been hijacked because the locals have stopped doing this kind of business. Remember our parents and grandmothers and fathers had been owning the shops and doing other informal trading, but we have dropped the ball, hence now we are renting out our properties to other people to do the same business,” Sithole reportedly said.
Yesterday , The Star reported that Gauteng Finance MEC Lebogang Maile has proposed that a state of emergency may be necessary to address the rising number of fatalities linked to spaza shops.
Previously, Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni called on South Africans to demand to see registration certificates from spaza shop owners before buying and eating food from their businesses.
“As South Africans, we must make a decision. We are the ones who buy at these spaza shops. We must take a decision as a society that we are not buying at the spaza shops where we are not sure where they are buying their products from. We are not buying at the spaza shops where the spaza shops are not registered in their municipalities.”
The Star
mashudu.sadike@inl.co.za