Closure of spaza shops in SA, hasty

Spaza shops are the only source of income for the semi-literate and unskilled

Spaza shops sudden closure, an attack on the poor

President Ramaphosa suddenly announced that all spaza shops must register within twenty one days and if they fail to meet the health and regulatory standards they will be shut down.

Policy introduced very hastily

This announcement is the second harshest declaration by the president after he ill-advisedly shut down the country for three years during COVID, which resulted in severe economic hardship for the country as a whole.

Government has lost touch with its people

Our president and his G N U government have lost touch with the hardships faced by ordinary citizens of this country, who are struggling to survive in our bankrupt  economy.

The failed COVID policy of harsh lockdowns, in hindsight was a disastrous policy. It caused more harm than good. Millions of small businesses all shut down and millions of employees lost their jobs. Jobs were lost in the travel and tourism industry, the hospitality, food and beverage industry, the entertainment industry.

Artists, skilled and semiskilled workers and their families struggled to survive after being without work for three years.

The only businesses that were making money were the big supermarket chains, corporate businesses like the banks, investment houses and essentials services.

The poor were left out in the cold.

Many of the unemployed lost bread winners after dying suddenly from so-called unexplained heart attacks or turbo Cancers, whilst others became suddenly blind or crippled through neurological disorders that could not be treated.

Our economy is in dire straits

Our economy is in dire straits. All our parastatal entities Eskom, SAA, RAILWAYS, and our health have either collapsed or are failing because of widespread corruption and/ or mismanagement.

Our politicians all received their salaries with perks throughout the pandemic and during our economic crisis, whilst the citizens of the country were struggling to survive. Gender violence, crime, addiction and mental illnesses shot through the roof during this period. Children suffered when the schools were shut down.

The government has not made any attempt to create an environment to assist people to start up small businesses to survive.

Having 16 million people on social welfare with only 20% of the population contributing meaningfully to our tax base is not something to be proud of.

We are a third world country

We are a third world country. All over Asia, the rest of Africa and South America ordinary citizens sell goods in the informal sector from small stalls.

90% of trading in Ghana takes place under umbrellas.

The only businesses that will benefit from the closure of spaza shops are the big supermarket chains waiting in the wings to enter our townships to capture the R200 billion informal spaza market.

Supermarkets too expensive

The overheads of the supermarket chains and profit margins are so high that ordinary people are going to starve to death because they will just not be able to afford the higher prices.

The spaza shops can keep their prices lower and affordable because they are not listed on the stock market to make the 10% of the country's investors very rich.

Spaza shop owners work long hours

Owners of Spaza shops and informal businesses have to work long hours, survive on small margins , weather the elements, lose on perishable items and worst of all pay protection tax to the gangs, who are the self-appointed tax collectors right under the noses of our incompetent government and law enforcement agencies.

Spaza shops accommodate the poor by selling small amounts of sugar, which the supermarkets won't sell. If many spaza shops are closed, all of their employees will lose their only source of income and add to our already huge unemployment burden.

Informal sector only option for survival for unskilled or semi literate.

The semi-literate and unskilled cannot be absorbed into the formal sector, so working in the informal sector is the only option for them.

Crime will increase phenomenally

It's hardly a guess how this new announcement is going to affect the poor. It's going to add considerably to their suffering. Crime will increase phenomenally. People are going to resort to illegal activities and violent crime just to survive.

The government can't monitor crime

What guarantees do we have that the department will be able to monitor the spaza shops efficiently.

As it is, the government is unable to control the taxi industry, which has made its own laws prohibiting the public from taking their children or families in their own transport. The taxi bosses apparently confiscate private vehicles carrying passengers and they only release the vehicle after a fine of R2500 is paid to the taxi bosses. This is totally illegal but it is taking place under the GNUs watch.

Another bureaucracy

Creating another department for spaza shops will create more jobs for pals in government and add to the burden of semi-literate grannies to fill out complicated forms and learn about complying with the law when they set up a small stall to sell their goods.

We need to protect the health of citizens

Yes we need to protect the public's health but we  should introduce policies in a less dictatorial manner.

If the GNU is so concerned about public health, here are some things they can do.

1. Replace the dangerous bucket system in school toilets

2. Better sanitation in the townships, where residents have to walk through faeces in the floods,

3. proper  treatment of drinking water to prevent waterborne diseases

4. proper nutrition in schools to combat the epidemic of obesity, diabetes and malnutrition

5. put a stop to GMO foods laced with mRNA proteins

6. encourage organic farming.

7. Stop factories polluting our rivers

8. encourage free range poultry, eggs and meat.

9. our government should sue Pfizer for lying about the safety of their vaccines as is being done in a Dutch court and in five States in the US. The vaccine injured must be compensated because many were forced to take the jab against their will.

10. The manufacturers of food should be held liable for getting rid of expired goods by selling it cheaply to the Spaza shops instead of taking them off their shelves and destroying them.

This policy of coming down heavily on street vendors was introduced by the DA government under Zille about 10 years ago. The DA in the western Cape tried to stop fruit vendors from plying their trade after being around for 40 years . Fortunately, the DA did not succeed due to public pressure.

Reaganomics is cold -hearted

This policy of ignoring the needs of ordinary citizens is typical for Reaganomics and the harsh policies of the cold-hearted Thatcher. Thatcher said unashamedly that it's not the government's duty to look after its people.

It was Lord Gladstone in the 1800s who said, "show me how your people live and I will tell you what kind of government you have".

Our president is inadvertently instituting policies that are in line with those of the WEF and Klaus Schwab.

Poverty and unemployment is going to lead to mass starvation. The WEF wants to create mass starvation through artificial food shortages and unemployment as a tool to control the masses.

When a government cannot address the needs of its citizens then it has failed in its mandate.

I sincerely hope that sanity will prevail and  that the interests of  the struggling citizens of this country are seriously taken into account before policies are implemented.

We need to urgently build a strong middle class like China has done to lift 700 million people out of poverty in 30 years.

EV RAPITI

Monday, November 18, 2024

Cape Town