A leader of the Site C Business Forum in Site C is calling for the government to be firm and regulate all businesses, including foreign-owned businesses.

The forum’s secretary, Melikhaya Yalwa, stated that they don’t have a problem with foreign-owned businesses as long as they are operating within government regulations.

According to Yalwa, majority of the foreigners in the area are undocumented and do not operating legally and that even the nationwide March and March protest that was held on Tuesday 30 June didn’t have an impact in the area.

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Equal rules for all businesses

“All we need is for them (foreigners) to comply with government regulations. They must be registered and pay taxes as well like anybody else. There must be no exceptions,” said Yalwa.

Forum rejects violence and looting

He stated that the forum does not encourage violence or looting of spaza shops. However, he proposed that the government needs to reserve certain business sectors for locals only. He highlighted spaza shops, salons, barbershops, restaurants etc. as some of the businesses that must be reserved for locals.

Site C Business Forum urges local entrepreneurs to unite

“Foreign people can only work if they are needed for scarce skills. As local businesspeople, we need to unite and be organised instead of working in isolation. Foreign shop owners work as groups. They are very organised when it comes to business,” he stated.

Yalwa slammed the government for doing little to equip local businesses.

Chamber says underlying issues remain unresolved

Echoing calls for stronger enforcement, Hubert Paulse, chairperson of the Cape Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s Safety and Security Portfolio Committee, said the issues that prompted the nationwide campaign remain unresolved.

“The underlying drivers of the protest — specifically community discontent over crime, unchecked immigration, and a lack of labour law enforcement — remain largely unaddressed,” said Paulse.

He said the Chamber noted that these deep-seated challenges must be funnelled into strict, lawful, and institutional processes to prevent cyclical threats to commerce. “For long-term economic stability, government must move past reactive containment and decisively enforce regulatory compliance across all sectors to secure an even playing field.”