By Sibongile Nonyana
The community of Mondlo, in the Zululand district municipality in KwaZulu-Natal, is frustrated over the closure of foreign-owned spaza shops after allegations surfaced that they were selling poisoned food.
Ward 16 councillor Felokwakhe Khumalo said the closure of foreign-owned spaza shops was due to complaints from residents of Block A and B, who found dead rats and cockroaches in the food.
“Police were going around the spaza shops checking them. If they found expired food or the spaza shop was not clean, they closed it,” he said.
Khumalo explained that the owners of the four closed spaza shops have been given three months to resolve the issues before they can reopen.
The shutdown in the area has left the community without any spaza shops, and residents now say they struggle to buy necessities.
The focus on foreign-owned spaza shops intensified after three children from the Eastern Cape died last month after eating poisoned instant porridge bought from a shop owned by a foreign national.
A member of the Mondlo community, who chose to remain anonymous, said they are frustrated because they no longer have nearby shops to buy from.
“These people [foreign nationals] were very helpful to the community because we used to send children to the store since they were close by. Now we must walk long distances to the mall to shop,” she said.
An elderly lady from eMadressini, Block D, who also wanted to remain anonymous, said the closure of the shops has severely affected their lives. “We could take whatever we wanted on credit during the month if we were short of food, and paid after we got our Sassa money.”
She acknowledged that some shops sold expired food and called for government intervention. “Every time we buy something, we check the expiry date,” she said.
Pictured above: A closed-down spaza shop.
Source: Supplied
