While registration for spaza shops and food-handling businesses is still possible, unregistered businesses have been warned that non-compliance with regulations puts them at risk of potential fines and even business closure.

This was according to City of Tshwane’s MMC for Economic Development and Spatial Planning, Sarah Mabotsa, who encouraged businesses to apply through the metro's online registration portal.

She said: “Those business owners who have not registered and not complied with the directive issued by President Cyril Ramaphosa are advised to still apply via the City of Tshwane’s online registration page, but are warned that they are deemed to be non-compliant with the directive of President Ramaphosa and risk fines of closure of their non-compliant businesses.”

Mabotsa said a total of 5,885 business owners took the initiative to register their businesses since November 15, 2024, making Tshwane a municipality which received the highest number of applications compared to their counterpart municipalities in Gauteng.

“I thank the thousands of residents of Tshwane who have complied with the President’s instruction to register, and I appeal for their and the public’s patience as our teams undertake their work of reviewing and verifying the submitted documentation,” she said.

The mandatory registration, which concluded on February 28, 2025, was aimed to regulate spaza shops and food-handling businesses within their respective municipalities.

Mabotsa said: “The informal economy is a key sector for enabling growth and job creation. The purpose of the registration process is to ensure that spaza shops and food-handling businesses are compliant with local by-laws and national legislation.”

She said the registration process not only ensures compliance with regulations but also provides assurance to residents that the registered businesses operate safely and within the bounds of the law.

She said the majority of registrants in Tshwane are South African citizens and more than one third of applications are from women-owned businesses.

According to Mabotsa, the review process for the 5,885 applications has commenced, yielding 179 approvals to date. At least 32 of the approved applications belong to legal foreign nationals.

“The remaining applications are awaiting the submission of further supporting documentation from the applicants, are awaiting confirmation from SARS or the National Department of Home Affairs with regards to tax or identity status or are still in the process of being reviewed or awaiting review by our officials,” she said.

Mabotsa said spaza shops and food-handling businesses should be on the lookout for a significant funding opportunity announced by the National Government.

Minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams announced on Sunday that the government will launch a R500 million spaza shop support fund within the next two weeks, aiming to provide a much-needed boost to small businesses struggling to access funding.

The fund, she said, aims to achieve economies of scale by linking spaza shops and food handling outlets to buying in groups for bulk purchasing.

rapula.moatshe@inl.co.za