The excitement of 64-year-old Adonis Matla over the expansion of the fringe Mandela Market is palpable, as she animatedly talks about the R144-million project, of which she’s a direct beneficiary.
Matla is thrilled that she and her peers will have access to job opportunities throughout the pre and post construction phase.
“People will not only get jobs during the construction phase but we will be more formal and have access to jobs such as quality assurance and the classification of goods and product information,” she explains.
Matla has been an informal trader at the market for 20 years, yet she’s been able to buy a home and a car and has educated her two children and three foster children with her share of the R250-million takings made here annually.
Bonga Mbucani (21) and Kgosi Mashigo (23) are among the youngest stall owners at Mandela Market and are also members of the Mandela People’s Market committee. They say that their peers see working at here as a dirty job, but they hope that the expansion project will help them become respected entrepreneurs in a formalised sector.
Mbucani is in his third year of Accounting at the University of Johannesburg (UJ). He took over the stall from his parents when they retired.
Kgosi Mashigo started trading at the market shortly after his grandmother’s death. He was curious to understand how she was making a living and carried on her baton against his father’s wishes, who wanted him to further his studies.
He has since made a success of it and is contributing meaningfully to his family.
The elders in the committee Themba Hadebe, Theo Ebimswinter and David Oraso are happy to see the growth and recognition that the fringe market is receiving. They hope the expansion will help young people, particularly women, to hone their entrepreneurial skills. This expansion has brought them confidence that when they retire, the ones that came after them will still continue to make a viable living, selling fresh produce.
Once fully-fledged, the fringe market, also known as the people’s market, will have more than 100 trading stalls, providing an additional 2600m2 of trading floor space; 94 storage units, protection from the weather and upgraded taxi and ablution facilities.
It’ll also have new 100 pallet cold storage rooms and dedicated loading areas for traders. Another addition will be a formal food court for the Cooking Mamas to ensure that they are compliant with environmental health regulations and provide an area where people can sit and eat.
The Market will implement a Green solution for the area, including solar power and rainwater harvesting.
The market is currently overseeing the final approval of the designs and will appoint contractors by the end of the year. The demolition of the current structure will start in January 2020 and traders will relocate into temporary structures by June next year. The construction of a new trading area roof will commence in December 2020.
The entire development is expected to create 262 jobs during and after construction and is hoped to grow the local economy and assist entrepreneurs to eke out a living working in better conditions. One of the mayoral priorities includes growing the local economy by at least 5 percent to create much-need jobs.
The expansion of the Mandela Market is part of the entity’s massive plan to overhaul its facilities in City Deep. Once construction is finalised in, the market will boast extra pack houses, meat processing and agro-processing facilities, a smart new exit and entrance gate.
Joburg Market is also looking to expand trading areas, develop the retail precinct and pallet pool area, and build new cold store and ripening facilities. It will build a new conference centre, upgrade power generation, install a new electricity meter and refurbish the sewer and drainage systems and fire suppression systems. The installation of Wi-Fi on the Market has started but it is still to be improved to accommodate a buyer’s online application and trading system.
The Mandela People’s Market committee encourages Youngers to save up their money, do research and acquire skills to be ready for the Smart Market of the Future, so they can grow and invest in other sectors of the trade as well.
