The Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Small Business Development, Ms Masefako Dikgale, has welcomed the closure of six wholesales that did not comply with the Department of Health’s regulations on general hygiene requirement for food premises, the transportation of food and related matters in Free State’s Fezile Dabi District.

As part of her constituency work, Ms Matsholo Mmolotsane, a member of the committee formed part of a joint operation to conduct inspections at these wholesales by officials from Fezile Dabi District Municipality, Metsimaholo Local Municipality and the South African Police Service.

Ms Dikgale has learned with dismay the shocking discoveries made by the team during a joint operation. The wholesalers, mostly foreign nationals, were found to be bypassing cleaning and disinfection protocols and resorting to breeding cats and utilising rodenticides as a measure to control the infestation of rodents inside their shops.

Ms Dikgale said: “Cleaning and disinfection at the end of the day is an essential routine procedure aimed at removing and destroying undesirable substances and organisms which may have a harmful effect on the consumer or the products.”

Ms Dikgake believes that the proclamation to regulate spaza shops as signed by President Cyril Ramaphosa will bring about order and strict compliance with governing general hygiene requirement for food premises, transportation of food and related matters in the entire value chain from manufacturing and packaging, warehousing and the point of sale at the spaza shop level.