Lebogang Maile, MEC of Finance and Economic Development will be heading to Soweto in the wake of an outbreak of violence in Naledi and Tladi where locals went on the rampage, closing and looting foreign-owned spaza shops.
Led by Operation Dudula, angry residents targeted foreign owned shops after the tragic deaths of five children from the area who reportedly ate poisoned snacks that they bought from one of these spaza shops.
The incident which has left community members up in arms, involved six children, who consumed poisonous snacks they bought from a tuckshop allegedly owned by illegal foreigners.
The tragedy claimed five lives of the young children, aged between six and 10, with the sixth one currently fighting for his life in hospital.
According to reports the boy has been in the intensive care unit (ICU) after he was admitted to hospital on Sunday.
“I saw my child turning purple and grey right before my eyes while holding her,” the father of Zinhle Ida Maama, one of the five children who died told The Star.
He added that by the time she wanted to say something about what happened, it was too late. “All I can say is my child suffered and whatever she had eaten was too much for her.”
Maile plans to visit the area in an effort to resolve the issue.
“I will visit the affected areas (Soweto) this coming weekend to interact with spaza shop owners and informal traders,” said the MEC.
Maile asked the community to be calm and refrain from taking the law into their own hands in the aftermath of the tragedy involving schoolchildren who died after reportedly consuming tainted snacks.
“We will intensify the Qondis’ Ishishini Lakho – Fix Your Business campaign, as a powerful instrument to crack down on non-complaint businesses across the province, especially in townships.”
However, frustrated community members say they are living in fear for their safety and that of their children, which led to them shutting down tuckshops, together with Operation Dudula, an organisation which is known for targeting foreign owned businesses and illegal immigrants.
Nomasonto Nkwanyana, the regional coordinator of the organisation, told IOL News that this is not the first time such an incident has occured in the area.
“Last year, we were called by the community in Naledi for the same tragedy, where two kids died in a similar way.”
Nkwanyana blamed the government for not taking any measures to address the ongoing issue of selling of toxic snacks by illegal foreigners.
“We feel betrayed by the government because our demands have fallen on deaf ears. If the food inspectors were doing their job, and checking if the tuck shops are complying none of this would have happened,” she added.
Nkwanyana said steps must be taken against the landlords who rent space to undocumented foreigners.
“The police must arrest those landlords that allow undocumented foreigners in the yards, and operate tuckshops without proper documentation. They must be arrested, because what they are doing is totally wrong.”
Nkwanyana confirmed that they have shut down at least 10 foreign owned tuckshops in the area since Sunday.
She added: “We are calling on landlords to reopen the shops themselves as their children are not working. How can they allow foreigners to come and make money in their yards, while their children are unemployed?
Angry resident Davis Magolego echoed Nkwanyana sentiments, stating that they feel abandoned by the government concerning the issue.
“We are so scared by this tragic incident and demand that all the spaza shops must be closed, because we don’t support rebels to loot our economy, worse by selling fake foods,” said Magolego.
In addition, the Not In My Name International, has also called on all South Africans to close the nearest foreign-owned spaza shops, following the Naledi tragedy.
Themba Masango, secretary general of the organisation that tackles gender-based-violence in the country, expressed his condolences to the family’s of the deceased.
Masango urged South Africans, particularly those residing in townships to mobilise themselves and peacefully shut down foreign-owned tuckshops.
“It has become apparent that we are on our own as South African citizens. The government of the day is standing on the sidelines observing as mere spectators the ongoing biological warfare on South Africans bodies through the sale of food not fit for human consumption.”
According to him, the move to shut down all spaza shops owned by undocumented foreign nationals, will not only save lives, but also return back the township economy to its rightful owners.
IOL News