Spaza registration presents challenges for business owners and municipalities | Mpumalanga News

The registration of spaza shops or food-handling businesses is perceived as a tedious process, especially for those in rural areas in the Ehlanzeni District Municipality (EDM).

This perception is due to factors such as the requirement of certain documentation and compliance with various regulations, some of which can be challenging for informal businesses.

The EDM’s spokesperson, Lucky Ngomane, said the biggest challenge applicants face is providing the zoning certificate, which confirms that a property is legally zoned for business activities. It is issued by the local municipality and is crucial for ensuring business operations comply with local regulations.

As the district consists of mostly rural residential areas and unproclaimed areas that are illegally occupied, obtaining a zoning certificate is an obstacle.

ALSO READ: Mpumalanga departments address school violence in Nkomazi

“Unproclaimed areas, such as Mataffin and Msholozi, are not under a traditional authority [a chieftaincy] or recognised by the local municipality. Applications made by residents operating their businesses in such areas may be deemed incomplete by default as a zoning certificate would not be available for them,” Ngomane said. He added that difficulties experienced by municipalities include submission of illegal documents by applicants, non-compliancy and a lack of supporting documentation.

Ngomane said that the EDM’s four local municipalities forward their business registration applications to the EDM for the issuance of certificates of acceptability. The EDM may conduct inspections before issuing these certificates, after which the local municipalities continue the process to issue a business licence.

ALSO READ: Load reduction: Are only the poorest areas in Mbombela left in the dark?

Spaza shops and food-handling businesses were mandated to start the registration process before February 28.
In November last year, President Cyril Ramaphosa called for all spaza shops and food-handling businesses in the country to be registered at their respective municipalities. This came after several cases had been reported of children getting sick from foodborne illnesses.