Cape Town - Nearly 200 000 spaza shops have been inspected since President Cyril Ramaphosa’s address on the deaths of several children due to foodborne illnesses on November 15.
The announcement formed part of a media briefing by Minister in The Presidency, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, on the outcomes of a Cabinet meeting held on Wednesday.
The media briefing took place at Parliament yesterday.
Ntshavheni said over 1000 spaza shops, supermarkets and warehouses have been shut down, while large quantities of goods have also been confiscated and numerous fines issued for by-law violations.
“There will be added scrutiny on manufacturers of food stuffs and pesticide Tuberfos to ensure that proper controls are adhered to,” Ntshavheni said.
All spaza shops and food handling facilities are required to register their facility with their municipality within the stipulated 21 days from November 15, and meet the required health standards or face closure.
“Cabinet calls on anyone who sees counterfeit food stuffs and expired items being sold in communities to report this to the National Consumer
Commission on 012 065 1940.”
Separately, Ntshavheni said Cabinet welcomed the announcement by Saudi Arabia to invest R9.5 billion to build a platinum smelter and base metal refinery in Waterberg, Limpopo.
“The new investment is a strong vote of confidence in our nation and builds on the first phase of our investment mobilisation drive under the sixth administration that saw our nation surpass its investment target by 26% to reach a total of R1.51 trillion rands in investment pledges.”
Ntshavheni said the country is now targeting R2 trillion in new investments over the next five years between 2023 and 2028.
Cabinet also welcomed the arrest of a 39-year-old Mexican national for dealing in and manufacturing drugs as well as contravening the Immigration Act.
“After a multidisciplinary operation guided by the police, led to the discovery of a drug laboratory in Rietfontein, Johannesburg valued at approximately R100 million. In addition, the SAPS through an intelligence drive operation confiscated a container carrying cocaine with an estimated street value of around R86.5 million that came in from Brazil through the Durban Harbour.”
The Cabinet also welcomed the hosting of the inaugural National Construction Summit for the creation of crime-free construction sites.
The summit was hosted by the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure on November 19, with various stakeholders including the Police, the Department of Water and Sanitation and other infrastructure-driven departments.
“The summit brought together stakeholders from Public Works and Infrastructure, Police, Treasury, as well as those in the built environment to reflect on and agree on a common approach to ending violence and extortion at construction sites that severely delay government’s large scale infrastructure projects.”