The City of Tshwane has the highest shortage of health inspectors in Gauteng, with one inspector for every 60,000 people in the metro.
This ratio is below the national health regulations as well as the international guidelines, which stipulate that there should be at least one inspector for every 10,000 people. This has resulted in one inspection of shops per year instead of twice, which is the minimum, according to the city's norms and standards.
Tshwane's health director Jerry Motsamai said they only have 74 inspectors in the metro, which has a population of more than four-million.
“Presently, we are doing one inspection once in a year and mostly attending to critical matters on a reactive basis,” said Motsamai.
Tshwane's health group head Koena Nkoko added that it is very difficult to have a full database of spaza shops, which makes it difficult to inspect them all.
“The question of staffing ratio vs the number of spaza shops, one must remember that most spaza shops are informal. One minute there’s a spaza shop here and one minute it is closed, so it is very difficult,” Nkoko said.
Nkoko said on the books they only have those who come to apply for formalisation.
Motsamai attributed staff shortage to budget constraints and resignations. He said they are not filling the posts fast enough to close the gap.
The city's health department has a budget of R460m for salaries for the current financial year with a total of 144 vacant posts, which would cost the city R93m to fill.
According to council documents, 285 fines valued at R1,2m were issued to food-supplying establishments in the last quarter of 2023. The fines were for food found stored on the floors, unsound food and for pest control challenges.
If a rat urinates on a cold drink can and a customer opens it, the contamination can lead to serious health issues.
— Tshwane's health director Jerry Motsamai
According to Motsamai, their inspectors would discover unhygienic working spaces at the establishment, inadequate infrastructure and poisonous droppings with some not having rezoning certificates.
This situation is similar in Ekurhuleni, where only 94 inspectors are available to the population of 4.2-million with a ratio of one inspector to every 44,680 people.
According to the director of environmental health in Ekurhuleni, Dr Jerry Chaka, the city is supposed to have 420 inspectors but the numbers have since dwindled from 102 early last year to 94.
“The city is looking into this to improve the situation because right now we are facing financial constraints. We are gradually looking into that programme and that will be addressed as soon as we have finances,” said Chaka.
Meanwhile, in Joburg, there are 221 inspectors with a single inspector servicing 27,000 people.
Environmental health director Peter Manganye said they lost six inspectors last year.
Motsamai said nobody is allowed to handle food without a certificate of acceptability. “That's the first offence we often encounter,” said Motsamai.
He added that spaza shops without proper certification are in direct violation of food safety regulations, but this is only one of many concerns. “In spaza shops, you often find rats, flies or other vectors that can spread disease,” Motsamai explained.
Hygiene and housekeeping are also critical concerns.
“The place must be kept clean at all times. For example, if a rat urinates on a cold drink can and a customer opens it, the contamination can lead to serious health issues.”
Motsamai also highlighted a worrying trend of spaza shop owners sleeping on their premises, which is illegal.
When violations are found, the department takes a developmental approach, especially with minor infractions. “We give shop owners a timeline to rectify the issues, but if the violations pose an immediate risk to public health, we can issue an immediate prohibition notice and close the shop the same day,” said Motsamai.
In severe cases, he said shops are shut down immediately with locks and chains, and they remain closed until the owners comply with health regulations.
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