The eThekwini Municipality is looking to rebuild the local economy by assisting small businesses such as tuckshops.
The municipality has proposed strategic interventions in this sector to arrest the displacement of locals by foreign nationals.
In a statement, the City said its executive committee had approved, on Thursday last week, the implementation of a strategic intervention to assist and empower local tuckshop owners.
“This initiative aims to enhance local economic development, support local entrepreneurship, and ensure sustainable economic growth within the municipality. This approval comes in response to the collapse of micro-enterprises known as tuckshops, which serve basic retail needs in townships and lower-income suburbs.
“The municipality aims to empower local tuckshop owners, enhance local economic participation and foster a supportive business environment,” it said.
The City said the strategic interventions proposed would contribute to economic empowerment, job creation and community development
The City has a database of 4 700 spaza shops currently issued with permits/licences to operate in various townships.
According to the report tabled before the Exco, many of these tuckshops have been taken over by foreign nationals, leading to unfair competition with local tuckshops.
“As a result, the sector is now dominated by foreign ownership, which has resulted in economic displacement, informal economy dynamics, influx of foreign nationals, compliance and legal issues, competition and market saturation, access to resources, community relations and cultural integration.
The proposed strategic interventions aim to address challenges facing these establishments through a comprehensive support framework that includes stakeholder engagement, access to opportunities and capital, local ownership of township/rural markets, bulk buying programmes, leveraging foreign ingenuity, township and rural empowerment, and skills development and capacity building.“
Regarding access to capital, the municipality has facilitated access to grants and micro-loans specifically tailored to support spaza shop owners, working with other government departments and various commercial banks.
The Mercury