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MEC warns spaza shops to register before deadline

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Owners of small businesses, spaza shops and other food-handling convenience stores in the Northern Cape have been reminded to register their businesses by the extended deadline of February 28 at their local municipalities across the province.

Northern Cape provincial commissioner Lieutenant-General Otola Koliswa inspects a small business as part of multi-disciplinary law enforcement operations. File picture

OWNERS of small businesses, spaza shops and other food-handling convenience stores in the Northern Cape have been reminded to register their businesses by the extended deadline of February 28 at their local municipalities across the province.

The MEC for Co-operative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs (Coghsta), Bentley Vass, said that businesses that had received acknowledgement of their registration must still obtain their trading licences.

“For this process, environmental health practitioners and other regulatory authorities would inspect registered food-related trading businesses to ensure that the businesses were eligible to trade,” said Vass.

“The government will continue to implement the action plan across all its spheres to address the crisis of food-borne illnesses and the illicit trade of goods across the province.”

Vass noted that businesses must complete their registration by February 28.

“This will assist the government to better support this important sector of the economy and ensure that we preserve lives’’.

He warned that South African landlords are prohibited by law from registering businesses on behalf of illegal foreign nationals.

“Any South African who has been found to have fraudulently registered a business on behalf of an illegal foreign national will face the might of the law.”

Vass stated that multi-disciplinary inspections are ongoing to strengthen compliance with trade and food safety regulations across the Northern Cape.

“The government is committed to safeguarding public safety and preventing future outbreaks through sustainable practices and partnerships,” he said.

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