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Podcast: First Take SA
Episode: MPs: Local Spaza Owners Hit by Red Tape While Foreign Traders Get Most Licenses
Description: Parliament has exposed a chaotic licensing system that leaves South African spaza owners struggling while foreign-owned shops benefit from lax enforcement. MPs revealed that locals face confiscations and red tape, yet foreign traders receive most approved licenses. The Parliament's Portfolio Committee on Small Business Development has heard that the Spaza Shop Support Fund has barely reached applicants, blocked by the very licensing failures the government hasn't fixed. Members, including Hendrik Krüger, warned that proposed transformation funds risk becoming bloated bureaucracies instead of empowering South Africans.  Hendrik Krüger Member of the parliament's  Portfolio Committee on Small Business Development spok...