Another tuck shop owner from the area, Tshidi Seloko, who was unable to register her business, echoed similar sentiments of foreign nationals being prioritised.

“Last week on Friday, my friend who is also a tuck shop owner also came back without being assisted. She said foreign nationals were given preferential treatment because they pay bribes,” she claimed.

Seloko, who also struggled to register her business, encountered difficulties due to her having to obtain a title deed for the house that her grandmother owned before she died.

She criticised the government for not adequately educating people on the documents needed for registration.

“They did not educate us enough about the documents needed to register the businesses, because now we’re suffering with registering our businesses,” Seloko told IOL News.

“I have tried to get the title deed several times, but still, I don't have it.”

Seloko also complained about the high costs associated with business registration, including R950 for a health certificate and R400 for a fire extinguisher certificate.

“We have been attending business workshops, but they never told us about all the documents that they need now,” she added.

Seloko has called on the government to extend the registration process by two months to allow those who failed to register to do so.

In response to IOL News inquiries, City of Joburg spokesperson Nthatisi Modingonane said the City is aware of bribery allegations related to the business registration process.

“The allegations of bribes have been doing the rounds since the application process started,” he said.

Modingonane added that the city has not received evidence of bribery and continues to follow up and request evidence whenever these allegations arise.

He stressed that applications and approvals are the two separate processes.

“Submission of application does not guarantee that the application will be approved,” he said.

“⁠There are several departments in the City which handle the process - from planning and built plans to environmental health to look at issues regarding certificate of acceptability.”

Modingoane urged the public to remain vigilant and avoid falling for any promises of a permit, as approval processes occur outside centres where applications are lodged.

“All applicants follow the same process, whether they are foreign nationals or South African,” he added.

Meanwhile, on Sunday, Gauteng MEC for Finance and Economic Development, Lebogang Maile, gave an update on the outcomes of the province-wide spaza shop registration process.

A total of 17,617 applications were submitted, which included 7,107 applications by foreign nationals.

The City of Joburg recorded the highest number of registration while Ekurhuleni metro has the highest number of applications by the foreign nationals with a total of 2,543.

The Gauteng municipalities issued a total of 4,610 certificates of acceptability, a mandatory business permit issued under Regulation R638 confirming compliance with basic food safety and hygiene requirements for food permit handling and transportation.

At least 128 of the certificates were issued to foreign nationals.

“A total of 15,478 spaza shops and food-handling facilities have been deemed non-compliant, with 498 of these closed with immediate effect,” Maile said.

simon.majadibodu@africannewsagency.com

IOL News

Get your news on the go, click here to join the IOL News WhatsApp channel.

#poisoning

‘They want money for cold drink’: Soweto spaza shop owners accuse City of Joburg officials of corruption

Gauteng province registers over 21,000 spaza shops, foreign nationals making up significant share