Battle for the township economy: Spaza shops vs supermarket chains

Aubrey Masango speaks to Jamie Mighti, a commentator, independent researcher and political analyst, about the battle for the township retail market currently being serviced by spaza shops. 

Listen below

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Are local spaza shops selling harmful goods in informal communities in South Africa?

The question has been a contentious issue in the country for sometime, particularly in communities where spaza shops are a vital source of affordable products.

Recent incidents involving below par or expired products seemingly originating from spaza shops, have fueled concerns about public health.

In October, Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi revealed that a pesticide known as organophosphate caused the deaths of six children who had purchased food from a spaza shop in Naledi, Soweto.

Mighti says the awareness around the danger of organophosphate is nothing new.

However, he says this renewed awareness has converged with a renewed interest from larger retailers to get into the spaza shop economy.

"[The Spaza shop economy] is valued at between R200 billion and some estimates even go up to R500 billion."

Jamie Mighti, Commentator, independent researcher and political analyst

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Critics argue that some larger retailers may benefit from the perception that spaza shops are unsafe, given that these businesses compete directly with them in lower-income areas. 

"It's inevitable that the supermarket chains,  the big retailers would start looking at that as one of the areas where they could start...making some profits."

Jamie Mighti, Commentator, independent researcher and political analyst

"Even though the supermarket chains are reporting these profits, when you look at them in dollar terms, they're basically sitting on stagnant growth and they need to find new areas of growth." 

Jamie Mighti, Commentator, independent researcher and political analyst

Mighti says media reports and comments from government and have possibly fueled speculation around the 'danger' of goods sold from spaza shops.

"When you look at the coincidences or some of the synchronicity of the events, the reporting, that you begin to maybe draft a plausible theory that some of the narratives around the death of children have been co-opted or maybe manipulated to serve a particular interest and not necessarily to solve the issue of agrotoxins in the communities."

Jamie Mighti, Commentator, independent researcher and political analyst

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