Tshwane Mayor honours court order to maintain Tshwane Fresh Produce Market

JOHANNESBURG - Tshwane Mayor Nasiphi Moya said she doesn’t expect to see the inside of a prison cell as the city rushes to comply with a court order to fix the troubled fresh produce market.

Earlier this month, the metro was found guilty of contempt of court for not complying with an October 2022 judgment, which ordered the municipality to upgrade and maintain the market.

Among other things, the city was ordered to ensure the market is fire and smoke detection compliant, purchase generators and evaporator coils with the R18 million annual budget allocated for the market.

Moya said addressing the market’s shortcomings is top of the agenda ahead of the court’s deadline and the city’s upcoming inaugural investment summit.

In January 2022, the Institute of Market Agents of SA (IMASA) took the municipality, under a different administration, to task for failing to maintain the Tshwane Fresh Produce Market.

The current administration has until next month to submit a precinct plan addressing the occupational and health issues.

Moya said a precinct plan was finalised at a Mayco meeting on Wednesday, and an operational plan is also available to IMASA.

Both these documents will form part of the city’s answering affidavit.

“The approach is quite simple; we need the fresh project market to work, and as this administration, we will do whatever it takes to make sure that it works and that it benefits our clients. I am too cute for jail, so I’m planning not to go to jail.”

She said above the court order, Tshwane has also approved a market bylaw to help run the facility transparently.