Spaza deadline 'locks out many'

21 DAYS: GROUPS CALL FOR EXTENSION AFTER 'CHALLENGES'

- Thando Nondywana

» 'Govt's silence a threat to livelihoods of thousands.'

As the deadline for spaza shop owners to register officially closed yesterday, some were calling for an extension, citing logistical challenges and more time to comply.

The 21-day registration period was declared by President Cyril Ramaphosa last month, following more than 20 children who died due to suspected food contamination linked to these shops.

Kopanang Africa Against Xenophobia expressed serious concern over the government's continued silence regarding the extension of the registration deadline.

Coordinator Mike Ndlovu said shop owners were being denied forms for registration and they were currently investigating some municipalities that refused to give owners the forms.

The forms were also not readily available online, registration lacked multilingual support and people had to travel to go through the registration process, he said.