Spaza registration countdown: 'Out of 1 200 members sent to register, only 7 succeeded' - spaza association

South Africa's informal traders are under pressure to register their spaza shops by the Friday 13 December deadline announced in November by President Cyril Ramaphosa.

The order followed a spate of incidents where food contamination linked to spaza shops caused the hospitalisation of many children, with at least 20 reported to have died.

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Reports suggest that the 21-day deadline is far too tight, given the administrative hoops owners have to jump through to get registered.

John Maytham checks in with Sibusiso Ngcobo, secretary of the South African Spaza and Tuck Shop Association (SASTA).

Out of around 1 200 members they sent to get registered, only seven have managed to meet the listed requirements so far, Ngcobo reports.

"That's because of the loopholes and the runaround and the strenuous list of requirements (having to be met) in such a short period of time."

"What I can say is that the time given is not adequate and in alignment with what work needs to be done before a spaza shop can get registered."

Sibusiso Ngcobo, Secretary - South African Spaza & Tuck Shop Association

Now that these businesses are being taken out of the informal sector and formalised, Ngcobo says, they have to comply with the Employment Act.

This includes meeting tax and UIF requirements and being able to deal with the financial implications, he explains.

"So we've had a very low positive outcome in terms of trying to get people to be compliant. The only issue is one of time, but we're working tirelessly to make sure that everyone meets the requirements and then we can get the ball rolling."

Sibusiso Ngcobo, Secretary - South African Spaza & Tuck Shop Association

Ngcobo foresees that President Ramaphosa will extend the deadline in view of these factors.

The association is also fighting for some of the requirements to be eased, he says, as it's a case at the moment of imposing what's expected of big retailers on small, informal businesses.

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