Following weeks of increased activity that eventually drew national attention to spaza shops, after the deaths and illnesses of many schoolchildren, government has intervened.

They urged all spaza establishments to apply for operating permits. However, this is unsatisfactory to ActionSA who want only locals to own the shops.

"ActionSA’s long-held call for government and society to do something about the gradual foreign take-over of Spaza Shops," said ActionSA presidency's stakeholder relations director.

He said these spaza shops have played a key part of historic subsistence of entrepreneurship in the country's rural areas and townships.

"ActionSA President, Herman Mashaba, will lead, what must be, a historic march in Soweto to take the #Spazas4Locals call a notch higher.

"Mashaba will be accompanied by ActionSA Gauteng provincial chairperson, Funzi Ngobeni MPL, ActionSA chief whip and national spokesperson, Lerato Ngobeni MP, and other leaders and members of the party in the Gauteng region, as well as other Soweto residents and civic organisations."

Ngobeni said this march is a lot more than about who gets to own and run spaza shops in Soweto.

"It is about township economic empowerment, health and safety for our people, and the need to strengthen our border and immigration laws, which have been weakened over time to the detriment of South Africans," Ngobeni said.

"Government’s response has been weak and confusing. If we do not act now, things will get worse."

The march is set to take place on Wednesday, December 4, at 9am in the Open Space next to Pace College, Koma Road, Jabulani.

The Kwazulu-Natal branch of the political party held a similar march behind the province's small business councils in November.

"We have seen the issues you are facing. In the eThekwini Municipality we forwarded a motion to put forth an investigation into spaza shops owned by foreign nationals," said ActionSA’s provincial chairperson Zwakele Mncwango.

"As ActionSA, we have proposed a Bill in Parliament in which we want 100% of spaza shops to be owned by locals."

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ActionSA to lead a Soweto spazas for locals march