Durban — The cabinet was recently briefed about the international migration workshop hosted by the Department of Home Affairs, other departments, traditional leaders and mayors from metro and district municipalities that focused on curbing effects of illegal immigration, including the operations of spaza shops.
Recently, there were incidents where schoolchildren had died due to expired and counterfeit goods from spaza shops which were allegedly run by foreign nationals in Gauteng and Eastern Cape.
The workshop further focused on curbing the effects of illegal immigration, including the operations of spaza shops, by various departments including Home Affairs immigration inspectorate teams to enforce compliance with applicable laws.
“The audit of spaza shops in villages and townships, and mechanisms to register them, will be undertaken by both traditional leaders and municipalities. There are also efforts to support traditional authorities to keep a record of foreign nationals in their communities while business licensing legislation is being amended to support those wishing to trade in the informal sector,” read the statement.
The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education said it now had a screening programme to determine where snacks and food being sold to pupils come from, as well as their safety.
The head of the department, Nkosinathi Ngcobo, said they were always vigilant about food poisoning. “Pupils should be cautioned to not buy from anywhere and buy from reputable shops. They also need to be taught not to buy snacks that have been removed from their original packaging,” he said.
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