Municipal authorities in uMgungundlovu are cracking down on a growing problem where South African citizens are allegedly applying for business licences, only to lease the operational spaza shops and small businesses to undocumented foreign nationals. This practice, highlighted by local officials during a recent operation, is frustrating efforts to regulate informal trade, enforce health and hygiene standards, and ensure all businesses follow both business and immigration laws.
Operation Siyabopha is part of ongoing multi-agency efforts to enforce municipal by-laws and ensure compliance with trading regulations.
During the operation in the Richmond Local Municipality on Friday, uMgungundlovu District Municipality mayor Mzi Zuma said that as part of their operational plan, they checked if shops comply with government regulations, if licences are in place, if health and hygiene standards are met inside the store, if there is expired food, and if the food is stored in accordance with the law.
Additionally, they were checking if the foreign nationals operating the stores are in the country legally.
“We are concerned that one of the problems we see is that when people who own these stores apply for a business licence from the municipality, it is granted to a South African person, who then leases it to a foreign national who is in the country without papers,” Zuma said.
“Then there is a complaint from our community that there are many foreign nationals operating businesses. But sometimes we are let down by our own people. They are the ones who apply for permits, asking to run businesses, and we approve them. Then they allow foreign nationals to operate.”
“We need the cooperation of the community here in Richmond and the community of the entire district so that we can solve this problem,” Zuma said.
“We do not want businesses run by undocumented foreign nationals.”
Zuma said there is no way of tracing someone who is undocumented, especially if they commit a crime, because nothing indicates they are in the country legally.
Richmond Municipality mayor Melikhaya Ngcongo warned the community that it was illegal to rent out property to undocumented foreign nationals.
“We do not only arrest undocumented immigrants; we arrest the immigrant, and if they were employed by someone who employs immigrants, we start with the landlord before we arrest their employees,” Ngcongo said.
“We ask the community to stop this thing of hiding foreigners. Stop this thing of renting to people who do not have papers. These people do not come with land and containers; they find it here and rent in our yards.”
Meanwhile, during the operation, some foreigners were arrested for being in the country illegally.
Officials discovered expired food items in some of the shops. They also found chemicals stored directly above energy drinks, creating a risk that the chemicals could leak onto the beverages.
A total of 17 people were arrested, but five were released because they had the correct documentation.
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