Spaza patrollers MIA as kids die

FOOD POISONING: CITY CITES INSUFFICIENT RESOURCES - In 2023, MMC said monitors would enforce regulations.

- Thando Nondywana

The City of Joburg is blaming lack of resources for the slow pace of monitoring and enforcing compliance in spaza shops as five families mourn the deaths of their children in Soweto.

They died at the weekend after eating snacks apparently purchased from a spaza shop in Naledi.

Joburg public safety MMC Mgcini Tshwaku admitted that despite commitments to clamp down on noncompliant spaza shops last year, progress had been slow.

"Some foreign-owned stores have shown reluctance to comply with regulations. We also have insufficient resources and capacity to effectively monitor and enforce compliance," Tshwaku said.