SAPS: We expect everyone to cooperate with compliance audits

National Police Commissioner General Fannie Masemola has warned that the police will monitor compliance with the law through the National Joint Operations and Intelligence Structure (NATJOINTS).

This occurs when integrated multidisciplinary teams undertake compliance audits of food processing facilities, manufacturers, distributors, wholesalers and retailers. This includes spaza shops and general retailers.

The President last week announced a massive door-to-door inspection campaign would be carried out on all spaza shops, tuck shops and other informal traders, starting in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal.

This will be undertaken by teams comprising the South African Military Health Service, environmental health practitioners, the South African Police Service, the National Consumer Council, labor inspectors and others.

The first phase of the inspections is expected to be completed within a month.

“As the police, we expect everyone to cooperate. “We will continue to visit warehouses across the country to make sure we know what is there, to make sure we know what is being transported, to make sure that illegal substances are not proliferating in the country,” General Masemola said.

He was briefing the media in Pretoria on Thursday alongside several Ministers who lead multidisciplinary teams in government responsible for the national response to foodborne illness.

General Masemola warned that if people do not cooperate or there is non-compliance, the police will not hesitate to take action.

NATJOINTS further encouraged communities to register their businesses and become responsible citizens.

“The government appeals to the public not to disrupt the registration process by preventing some shop owners from participating in the process, including illegal inspections by members of the public and other unauthorized entities,” NATJOINTS said.

Last week, President Cyril Ramaphosa called for all spaza shops and food processing establishments to register with relevant municipalities within 21 days.

Minister of Commerce, Industry and Competition Parks Tau emphasized the importance of registering businesses and ensuring compliance.

“If you continue to trade unregistered, you are operating outside the framework that allows the government to discharge its responsibility according to the necessary standards set. We need to ensure compliance. This is to protect our people,” Tau said.

He said unregistered businesses in districts and rural areas cannot receive support from the state.

“Once you register, we can provide the necessary support. “Our laws are clear about who can register a business, including a spaza shop,” the minister said.

Small Business Development Minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams emphasized that only individuals and businesses that meet the legal requirements and regulations stipulated by South African law will be allowed to establish businesses in the country.

Ndabeni-Abrahams said everyone must be ready to find a solution to the crisis facing the country.

“If we want to meet the challenge and not just target one aspect of the problem, we need to think bigger and look at the broader picture,” the minister said.

He said the law stipulates who can do business, whether you are a South African or a South African. “Our laws are not changing because we are facing a crisis. “If you do not meet the conditions, you cannot trade,” said the Minister.

Minister Ndabeni-Abrahams said municipalities alone cannot verify the authenticity of all businesses and individuals.

He said they did not have the capacity to verify identity and that was why they brought in other departments, such as the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

“Everyone who does business in a town or village, whether it is a butchery or a wholesaler, has the responsibility to go and register their business. “We call on South Africans not to take the law into their own hands,” he said. – SAnews.gov.za