President Cyril Ramaphosa says the government’s drive to register, regularise as well as ensure spaza shops meet health and safety regulations is taking shape.
In his address to the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) on Thursday, Ramaphosa said government inspectors have already visited more than 200,000 spaza shops, shut down 1,000 and issued “numerous fines” for noncompliance.
His update comes two weeks after he ordered the immediate closure of all spaza shops linked to child deaths allegedly due to food poisoning.
“Since we announced a range of measures two weeks ago, multidisciplinary teams have been conducting inspections of spaza shops across the country. Nearly 200,000 spaza shops have been visited. More than 1,000 spaza shops, supermarkets and warehouses have had to be closed down,” Ramaphosa said.
Ramaphosa also emphasised the need for food security in SA and for the government to urgently address the high cost of living in the country.
As the government of national unity (GNU) continues to thrash out its priorities ahead of the release of the medium-term development plan early next year, Ramaphosa has proposed increasing the basket of goods excluded from VAT and investing more in sustainable agriculture to feed communities.
This comes despite finance minister Enoch Godongwana’s forecast in the medium-term budget policy statement last month, of a 5% budget deficit (R22.3bn shortfall) for the 2025 fiscal year compared with a year earlier. However, he still projected that the deficit would fall gradually as low as 3.2% in the 2028 fiscal year.
The lower tax revenue, due mainly to a falling fuel levy and import VAT collections, has also raised the debt-to-GDP ratio — a crucial metric for credit ratings agencies — to 75%, up from 74% in 2024, with a peak of 76% in 2026.
With the ANC having lost its majority in this year’s general election, Ramaphosa’s administration will have to balance the government’s fiscal pressures against a cost-of-living crisis in SA that includes high food, electricity and public transport prices, if the government of national unity (GNU) — which includes the ANC, DA, IFP and smaller parties — has any hope of winning the confidence of the electorate in ballot.
“It has been almost six months since South Africans went to the polls. Through their votes, the people of SA gave their elected representatives a firm mandate to improve their living conditions and their prospects for a better life. Since then, we have worked to give effect to that mandate. Guided by the will of the people, we established a GNU consisting of 10 parties from across the political spectrum.
“While these parties differ on many issues, they have committed themselves to inclusive economic growth and accelerated job creation. They have committed themselves to reduce poverty and tackle the high cost of living,” Ramaphosa said.
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