KNYSNA NEWS - Knysna Municipality Ward 5 Councillor Hilton Stroebel, together with Knysna police, municipal law enforcement officials and Garden Route District Municipality environmental health officers, conducted a joint Covid-19 compliance operation in Rheenendal on Thursday 7 January.
In a phone interview with Knysna-Plett Herald, Stroebel said apart from checking for compliance, they "also created awareness encouraging people to wear their masks".
Stroebel said out of the 12 spaza shops they visited in Rheenendal, they temporarily closed four for non-compliance with the prescribed health measures and not having the necessary trading permits.
"The shops will be opened as soon as the owners sort out their permits. These stakeholders are committed to serving the community of Rheenendal by ensuring adherence to the regulations by all and maintaining law and order. This operation will definitely not be the last of its kind," he said.
No one was arrested during the operation. "We noticed that some of the shops had sanitisers and did not allow people to enter the shop without masks," Stroebel said.
He emphasised that the operation was not conducted to undermine the township economy.
"We know that people are making a living out of the spaza shops. Also these shops help old people by giving them food on credit. Our people have good relations with the local spaza shops and we would like to keep that."
He said they encouraged shop owners to comply with the Covid-19 protocols. "Rheenendal residents have benefited from this operation. Since the operation people have started wearing masks when going outside; some wear them even in their own homes.
"We don't want people to wear masks only when they see the police. They must wear these masks every time and not be forced to wear them," he said.
Police spokesperson Sergeant Chris Spies confirmed that four spaza shops were closed for not complying with the health regulations.
"A R1 000 fine was also issued to a shop owner for the sale of fireworks and a number of items were confiscated for disposal. No arrests were made during the operation. Similar operations will be conducted in other areas," he said.
'We bring you the latest Knysna, Garden Route news'
