JOHANNESBURG - The Gauteng government is calling on community members to buy food only from registered spaza shops.
This follows the death of yet another child in Soweto due to suspected chemical poisoning.
WATCH | Requirements for spaza shops registration in Gauteng
Spaza shop owners have 21 days to register their businesses.
Gauteng Finance MEC Lebogang Maile has raised concerns about the slow pace of spaza shop registrations in the province.
Maile said, "The community must take responsibility and government must take responsibility. That's why we've outlined plans to fast-track the registration processes to make it easy and more accessible because we are concerned."
"That's why we have multiple registration centers in all 11 municipalities in the province. But we are worried about the pace of registration and we would want as many people to take up that opportunity of registering their establishments."
"People must not wait until the last minute. We must start educating communities about which spaza shops to buy from because you can't buy from a spaza shop that is used as a bedroom, that has not displayed its registration licence or health certificate."
"We can't wait until the kids die, then we start asking each other difficult questions."
A 5 year-old boy from Diepkloof, in Soweto, died on Thursday morning after allegedly eating snacks bought at a spaza shop.
Local ward councillor Brenda Dammie says she has been informed that one other boy is in critical condition in the ICU and another in a stable condition.