NORTH WEST GOVERNMENT ENFORCES COMPLIANCE AMONG NONCOMPLIANT BUSINESSES IN TAUNG
The MEC for Community Safety and Transport Management, Wessels Morweng, together with the Greater Taung Local Municipality Executive Mayor, Tumisang Gaoraelwe, led the Thuntsha Lerole Joint Business Compliance Inspection in the Taung Station CBD and Extensions 6 & 7 today, within the Greater Taung Local Municipality.
The operation that started yesterday, inspected 27 tuck shops, retail stores and 16 liquor outlets. The inspection included businesses in the villages of Magogong, Diplankeng, Diphitsing, and Gamoduoana.
The joint operation is one of the important activities of the Thuntsha- Lerole Accelerated Service Delivery Programme taking place bi-weekly to address service delivery issues with necessary interventions.
This efforts aims to ensure that businesses comply with South Africa’s regulatory framework, such as the North West Business Licensing Act, National Liquor Act, Consumer Protection Act, North West Gambling Board Act, Foodstuffs, Cosmetics, and Disinfectants Act, Immigration Act, National Environmental Management Act, and relevant municipal by-laws, focusing on safeguarding both business operations and consumers well-being.
This operation also serves as a proactive response to the country’s rising concerns over food safety, including recent nationwide reports of food-borne illnesses and fatalities.
These incidents, which allegedly involved contaminated snacks causing severe illness and even death among children, have heightened the urgency for stringent compliance measures.
Today’s inspection uncovered several violations of laws regulating the business sector in the province. Demonstrating zero tolerance for noncompliance, the team confiscated and condemned goods valued at R15,000 and issued fines totaling R5,000 to noncompliant businesses. The transgressions included the sale of expired and dented food items, unlabelled products, and repackaged foodstuffs. Other violations included operating in unhygienic premises lacking ventilation, sleeping inside shops, keeping animals on business premises, absence of rodent and pest control, and failure to separate personal foodstuffs from groceries for sale, particularly those stored in refrigerators.
Improvements were noted in compliance with business legislation among liquor outlets. Of the 16 liquor businesses inspected, only 2 were found to be non-compliant with the National Liquor Act. Similarly, progress was observed in the area of labour regulations wherein the Department of Employment and Labour recorded only 2 cases of non-compliance with the National Minimum Wage Act 9 of 2018 among the 19 shops visited.
The Department of Home Affairs in enforcing the Immigration Act No. 13 of 2002, inspected 11 shops and noted overall compliance. The North West Gambling Board on the other hand confiscated 1 illegal gambling machine from a local tuck shop in Magogong, and a fine of R1,500 was issued. These machines promotes illegal gambling among minors, which is strictly prohibited for individuals under the age of 18.
In closing the operation, MEC Wessels Morweng urged communities to report suspicious noncompliant spaza shops and retail stores for proper assessment and investigation.
“We appeal to our communities to report spaza shops and retail stores that are not compliant. Reports can be made to the DEDECT, municipalities or South African Police Service (SAPS). As the government through Thuntsha Lerole and other programmes, we will conduct thorough investigations, make arrests where necessary, press charges in line with the law, or even shut down noncompliant businesses. We are a government of the people, and it is our responsibility to protect our communities. One death is too many. We must act decisively to end the noncompliance within the business environment. We cannot wait for more lives to be lost before taking action,” said MEC Morweng.
The government will continue to intensify business compliance inspections in collaboration with other regulators, ensuring zero tolerance for non-compliance in the business sector and safeguarding communities’ wellbeing.
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Issued jointly by DEDECT and DCSTM
