Media Release: GRDM Environmental Health Practitioners, SAPS and Local Municipalities visit spaza shops

For Immediate Release
6 November 2020

During October a number of role players visited 126 Spaza Shops in the Garden Route to ensure that compliance to regulations governing general hygiene requirements, including COVID-19 regulations; food premises standards; and the transport of food and related matters, were adhered to.  The visits were arranged by the Garden Route District Municipality (GRDM) Environmental Health Practitioners (EHPs) and approached jointly with the help of the South African Police Services (SAPS) and local municipal officials from town planning, law enforcement, building control and local economic development.

“The Garden Route District Municipality command centre collectively decided that unannounced visits to Spaza Shops were needed,” said Johan Compion, GRDM Manager: Municipal Health and Environmental Services. “Spaza Shops are visited by a great number of people and especially nowadays, with the risk of a second wave of COVID-19 emerging, it is more important than ever that businesses are safe and compliant to regulations,” he said.

During the inspections the focus is on the following issues:

• Checking if all Spaza Shops had Certificates of Acceptability (CoAs);
• compliance to local municipal bylaws;
• compliance to hygiene standards;
• adherence to COVID-19 safety measures (hand sanitizer at designated points available to customers and employees; social distancing for queues);
• monitoring of employees and customers wore face masks;
• sanitising of hands before and after servicing customers;
• sanitising of hands after handling money.;
• displaying appropriate signage and awareness information;
• maximum ventilation;
• daily cleaning and disinfection of high risk surfaces and objects;
• wearing of utility gloves by those removing refuse;
• proper sealing of waste bags; and
• no illegal dumping of waste.

Challenges identified at some of the Spaza Shops, include:

• Sanitising and wearing of masks in some Spaza Shops were not adhered to.
• Social distancing of 1.5 m in and outside shops when queuing and inside some Spaza shops were not followed by customers.

Where non-compliance was identified, additional awareness and education was provided and an inspection report issued, which will include a follow-up inspection. This has to happen to ensure that hygienic requirements are met and COVID-19 preventative measures are followed to combat and prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

Picture: Gcobani Tshozi, EHP for Garden Route DM and Thomas Fosibo (Manager of Shop 2 in Thembalethu)

ENDS