'Anyone in SA illegally must go and work hard in their own countries': Mashaba on spaza shop ownership

ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba has urged illegal foreigners who own spaza shops in South Africa to apply their energy and hard work in their own countries.

This comes after a video surfaced of a foreign spaza shop owner claiming South Africans lack the work ethic to successfully run spaza shops.

Mashaba countered this assertion, saying South Africa does not need the hard work of foreigners, especially in light of the recent surge in food-borne illnesses linked to spaza shops.

“Anyone in South Africa illegally must go and work hard to fix their countries,” he posted on X.

“Why run away from your country if you claim to be a hard worker and insult us? We don't want criminals in our country masquerading as hard workers. If these people were real hard workers, I would humbly request that they go work hard in their own countries and build. South Africa does not need their hard [work].”

More than 20 children have died after consuming items allegedly purchased from spaza shops while many more have been hospitalised.

In response to this crisis, the government has introduced measures to register and regularise spaza shops. However, Mashaba is adamant these shops should be reserved for local ownership.

The party led a “Spaza4Locals” march in Soweto on Wednesday, where they handed a memorandum to the City of Johannesburg.

“We cannot allow illegal people to come into our country. We don't know how they came into the country. They are taking our businesses and bringing counterfeit and expired goods to kill our nation.”

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