ANGRY community members of Bophelong in the Vaal want aboMyfriend back.
They said the "concerned group" that closed down foreign-owned shops in the township only thought of their business interests.
The closure of foreign-owned shops in Bophelong came after many pupils were admitted to hospitals and some lost their lives across Gauteng allegedly due to the deadly snacks they consumed.
One of the residents told Daily Sun they used to buy groceries from the shops and daily items.
"The situation is bad for the elderly and kids. We are only left with one shopping complex that is far from us, and it closes very early compared to shops by aboMyfriend," he said.
She said some residents had begun to sell staples such as maize meal and cooking oil out of their own homes.
She said they sold very expensive things and didn't give credit like the foreign-shop owners did.
"Spazas are community shops. They sell in small amounts such as half loaves of bread to meet the needs of the poorest customers and since they have been closed, the situation's very bad to many families who relied on the shops for food," she said.
Another resident said the group only thought of their business interests and not of the community as they were the ones who had opened shops that were charging double.
Nkosana Mpondo told the SunTeam that the survival of spazas was critical to the townships because shopping complexes and malls were very far from their township.
"The township has more than 17 sections and the shops are less than five. We will never be able to cater for the entire area like foreign-owned shops that were at every corner and street of the area," said Nkosana.
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Phehello Mollo, chairman of Tau Dia Rora organisation that deals with crime and initiation, said that his organisation was watching over the foreign-owned shops.
He said they were protecting them from vandalism and also making sure the concerned group didn't take over the shops.
Phehello said the group closed shops as they accused the foreigners of not complying with the law.
"Now they want to use the same shops that they say are not compliant and keep the same food," he said.
Emfuleni municipal spokesman Makhosonke Sangweni said the municipality was aware of the developments in Bophelong and other areas.
He said they would be starting an intensive operation on compliance from the first week of December, which includes but is not limited to application at Home Affairs as one of the steps required in compliance of Spaza shop ownership.
"We will be working with all communities to make sure that they all comply, especially those of South African origin as their process is not complicated," he said.
Makhosonke said businesspeople across Emfuleni are encouraged to work with the municipality to comply and apply for spaza shop grants, which close in the next few weeks as part of government support to create successful businesspeople and create sustainable jobs.
