Gauteng spaza registrations marred by chaos, slow

The Gauteng department of economic development has admitted that the registration process for spaza shops in the province has been slow and chaotic, and has blamed capacity constraints within municipalities for this.

“Most municipalities do not have enough capacity to register and process documents,” the department’s spokesperson Sabelo Ndlangisa said.

The  comments come as frustration by spaza shop owners mounted ahead of Friday’s registration cut off.

So far, only 1,464 of the 17,290 applications received by Gauteng municipalities have been approved. The  department attributed the slow progress to bureaucratic problems, high registration costs which were unaffordable for most business owners, as well and municipalities’ lack of resources to process applications efficiently.

“The  process of registration takes longer than expected due to the multiple players involved. Additionally, some townships remain unproclaimed, and most municipalities still rely on manual registration systems,” he said.

“Some municipalities do not allow businesses with outstanding municipal bills to register until their debts are settled,” he said.

Spaza shop owners said obstacles beyond their control have made registration difficult, with many landlords reportedly refusing to provide title deeds required for registration amid fears that their documents could be misused for fraudulent property sales.

They also complain about the high cost of registration.  It requires a payment of R1,034, and additional fees such as R400 for a zoning certificate and R950 for a health certificate. Many owners argue that these costs are unaffordable given their limited profits.