Some spaza shop owners in Tembisa and other parts of Ekurhuleni have reported that they have been receiving death threats from their foreign national counterparts.
This week, a Tembisa-based spaza shop owner told of how after raising capital to open his own spaza shop, he was told that he must close his shop as the economy belongs to Pakistani, Ethiopian, Somalian, Bangladeshi and other foreign nationals.
“Me and my friend opened a spaza shop, buy-and-braai and a car wash here in Tembisa last weekend, and today, three Ethiopians came to tell us that we can keep the two, but Spaza shops belong to them, so we must close it or they'll deal with us. Politicians promise jobs with no proper planning and people cheer them on while real job creators becomes victims or worse, get killed,” the spaza shop owner revealed.
Last week, there were reports that at least three spaza shop activists in Ratanda, south of Heidelberg in Gauteng, have been killed in the past three weeks, allegedly by hired Lesotho nationals.
According to news reports, one of the victims was Happy Nyawuza, a prominent figure in the local business community, who was allegedly gunned down inside his tuckshop by attackers who had come to buy airtime from him.
Reports suggest that the attackers had tried to buy airtime from Nyawuza. When he told them they were R3 short, they shot him. Nkosinathi Phillip Etienne Ngondo, who was visiting Nyawuza, tried to stop the gunmen but was shot dead when they turned on him.
This has prompted the leader of the African Transformation Movement, Vuyo Zungula, to write an urgent letter to Ministers Bheki Cele and Khumbudzo Ntshavheni urging them to prioritise these killings and vicious attacks against local spaza shop owners.
“Over the years, many stories have surfaced about how South Africans are intimidated by foreign nationals in the townships, who claim monopoly over the ownership of spaza shops. These shocking revelations were legitimised in these past few days by continued attacks and killings of community leaders in Ratanda, a township in Heidelberg, Gauteng.
“On a separate incident, two black South African entrepreneurs were instructed to close down their shop in Tembisa or else they will be dealt with by Ethiopian nationals, who are alleged to be sourcing the services of Basotho nationals to carry out attacks on resisting black South Africans,” Zungula writes in his letter to the two ministers.
Zungula has urged the ministers to dig deeper and investigate the existence of spaza shop syndicates who are threatening local business owners as more and more similar incidents are being reported on social media.
This comes amid reports of food poisoning incidents in Gauteng, which have resulted in the reported deaths of more than 21 young children after having eaten food bought from local spaza shops.
Last month, shops in Tsakane were looted and closed down due to a new wave of children’s deaths.
“We are witnessing a well-coordinated syndicate operating the township economy by foreign nationals. Young foreign men are trafficked from East African countries, with nothing but the clothes they have on. However, when they arrive in South Africa, they open and run spaza shops in the townships... The reports of ISIS being funded by proceeds from spaza shops operated by foreign nationals in South Africa is given credence by the hostility and intimidation South Africans are faced with when attempting to participate in the spaza shop economy,” Zungula added.
Spokesperson for the Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni indicated that his office was yet to receive such a letter.
Lirandzu Themba, spokesperson for Cele, said: “I have checked with my office. Yes, the letter was received last night and is being attended to and will be responded in in due course.”
However, Pakistan High Commissioner in Pretoria, Shahid Habib Khan had this to say: “The Pakistani community based in South Africa is very peaceful and they themselves have been the target of various crimes. You are requested to please share if there is any specific information that can be shared with the High Commission regarding the incidents that you are referring to.”
The Star