Residents in Thembisa call for closure of foreign-owned spaza shops

Added: 2026-05-11

[00:00:00]Let's take you to Tbisa now where residents are up in arms calling for the closure of foreignowned spaza shops accusing them of selling unsafe food products and putting the lives of community members at risk. The protest at Su in in the Egeni township has drawn large crowds with residents also blaming government for failing to regulate informal trading. SABC news reporter Balen Teta is in Tisa and joins us live.

[00:00:27]Valente, a very good afternoon to you.

[00:00:29]Community members clearly up in arms and wanting to ensure that their cries don't fall on deaf ears. Talk to us about the latest on the ground.

[00:00:44]Well, we have come to the final stage of that march. The final stop rather of that march that started early in Tisa where we saw uh community members going around Tisa, removing informal traders who are believed to be uh foreigners uh trading in South Africa or migrants trading in South Africa. And they have been accused of um selling drugs and selling expired foods. And that is the reason why this march has taken place uh today. And we've seen these community members coming together saying that this is not a a a community.

[00:01:31]This is just a community that's coming together, but it's not led by anyone in particular. And we've also learned that the this march was not sparked by the Mazi incident, however, or Mazi's abduction. However, it's because the people just wanted to know more.

[00:01:58]No, South Afric They must have control.

[00:02:49]So organiz If you ever want to enough is enough. Uh they have it community members complaining saying that enough is enough and they are saying that they want um they want answers um with when it comes to why is it that uh there are foreign nationals who have managed to come into the country and set up shops start businesses when South Africans are not allowed to do that or they go into those countries and come back immediately afterwards. I see the this is Tbisa Parliament. Um this is a community-led um protest. How is Tbisa Parliament involved in this?

[00:04:27]>> Um >> please introduce yourself.

[00:04:29]>> Okay. Yeah. Um I'm Mr. Matthews Mala, spokesperson of Tbisa Parliament. Um we really uh shocked about whatever is happening with the losing of the kids every day due to the food that they're eating from the spa shops. They're selling expired food. They don't eat the food that they themselves they are selling. They are going to shop right the checkers to go and buy food for themselves. But they want our kids and ourselves to go and buy the food that they are selling.

[00:05:01]>> No, but is is there not a is I mean if you say the food that they're selling is expired, right? And they go to your traditional supermarkets to buy their own goods um for like the food that they consume. Can't you do the same as the community and perhaps not buy from those jobs?

[00:05:20]>> No, no, no. Uh what I can tell you is that we want them to close down their shop so that our South African can open their own and create uh job opportunities.

[00:05:30]>> This is what we want because we we don't know where are they manufacturing this food.

[00:05:37]>> Yeah. Now I just want to bring your attention to the law enforcement um that is around here. So this these are uh two vans. Uh this march was actually accompanied by four police vans uh just to ensure that this protest does not turn violence. You will remember that there were concerns about the fact that this march seems to be a faceless march and that there could perhaps be um a violent elements that could take over this protest action. But as you can see, law enforcement was on the ground and ensured that um nothing went out of hand, got out of hand rather, and everything was done um uh in accordance to the law and uh safely. Uh so so these are the police officers that were um watching this march and just ensuring that this situation is kept under control. Uh we are trying to get some of the uh foreign shop owners uh to so that we can get a thought from them as to how they feel about this uh march and the fact that there are calls for their shops to be removed. Most of the time when we do try to reach out to them or even when we go close to them, they usually they usually refuse to to give us an opportunity to speak to them. But for now, it is back to you in studio.

[00:07:08]>> Balenca, before we you hand back, talk to us a little bit about uh uh what has been what is essentially happening to those foreignowned shops. Have they all completely uh closed shop until the march is over? Um yeah, what is the situation on their end?

[00:07:29]>> Well, they have closed shop until the march is over. Uh for majority of them, those who did not close shop um were forced to close shop. Um but some we saw some of them that were some though some shops that were operating um shut down and close their doors immediately um after seeing the the the the protesters and the marchers um here today. But informal traders were the ones who were the hardest hit as they were asked to remove their stock um and they some of them even fled with some of their stock.