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500 signatures reached
To: Stella Tembisa Ndabeni, Minister of Small Business Development, Parks Tau, Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, and the Small Enterprise Development and Finance Agency (SEDFA).
Where is the R500M? Release all beneficiary information and funding records on the SSSF
We the citizens of the Republic of South Africa demand that the Minister of Small Business Development, the Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, and the Small Enterprise Development and Finance Agency (SEDFA) must immediately publish a comprehensive public report detailing how the R500 million Spaza Shop Support Fund has been allocated, administered and disbursed since its launch on 8 April 2025.
This report must include a complete list of all approved beneficiaries, the province in which each beneficiary operates, the amount allocated to each beneficiary, and the dates on which funding was approved and disbursed. Where funding was provided in the form of stock, equipment, point-of-sale devices or other non-cash support, the value of such support must also be disclosed.
The decision-makers must further account for the difference between the R500 million fund announced to the public and the R79.6 million that has reportedly been approved for 1,316 beneficiaries. We deserve a clear explanation of how much funding has actually been spent, how much remains available, where the remaining funds are currently held, and what plans exist for their future allocation.
In addition, all assessment and adjudication criteria used to approve or reject applications must be made public, together with anonymised statistics showing the reasons applicants were disqualified. This will help restore public confidence in the integrity of the programme and allow unsuccessful applicants to understand how decisions were made.
Finally, all relevant reports, audits and oversight mechanisms relating to the fund must be released to the public. Transparency is not optional when public money is involved. We have a right to know who benefited, how decisions were made, and what happened to every rand of the R500 million Spaza Shop Support Fund.
Why is this important?
In April 2025, the South African public was informed that government had launched a R500 million Spaza Shop Support Fund to assist South African-owned spaza shops and strengthen township and rural economies. For many small business owners struggling with rising costs, limited access to finance and increasing competition, this announcement offered hope that meaningful support would finally reach the people it was intended to serve.
More than a year later, serious questions remain unanswered. While thousands of South Africans submitted applications in good faith, many report receiving identical rejection letters stating only that the programme was oversubscribed. Following growing public pressure, the Minister of Small Business Development released a statement indicating that 1,316 applications had been approved to the value of R79.6 million. However, no detailed beneficiary list has been published, no breakdown of individual allocations has been provided, and no comprehensive public accounting has been given for the remainder of the R500 million fund announced to the public.
This issue affects every taxpayer, not only unsuccessful applicants. Public funds belong to the people in South Africa and must be administered transparently, fairly and accountably. When hundreds of millions of rands are allocated through a public programme, citizens have a right to know who benefited, how beneficiaries were selected, how much was disbursed, and whether the programme achieved its intended purpose. Without transparency, public confidence in government support programmes is undermined and legitimate questions about accountability inevitably arise.
By signing this petition, we can send a clear message that public money must always be subject to public scrutiny. The greater the public support behind this campaign, the harder it becomes for decision-makers to ignore demands for transparency and accountability. Together, we can compel government departments and agencies to provide a full accounting of the R500 million Spaza Shop Support Fund, disclose all beneficiaries, and account for every rand entrusted to them on behalf of the people of South Africa.