Small Business Development Minister Stella Ndabeni cautioned local spaza shop owners who are fronting for foreigners.
The Minister of Small Business Development, Stella Ndabeni, has threatened to withdraw funding for spaza shops after many locals applied and handed shops back to foreigners.
Speaking at the South Africa Funeral Practitioners Association international conference in Durban on Tuesday, Ndabeni revealed that in the first phase of disbursement of R500 million that was set aside to support the township and rural economy, the government discovered that there were locals who fronted for foreigners.
She said that her department set aside R150 million, while R350 million came from the Trade and Industry Department (DTI); however, the government was disappointed when it discovered that locals applied for funding only to hand over spaza shops to foreigners.
She warned that as her department rolls out the second phase of the disbursement, she would ensure that those locals who front for foreigners do not get funding, saying her department would strictly scrutinise every application to ensure the funding is going to the correct person.
