Traders from the Kwa Mai-Mai traditional market say they no longer want to be under the sole custodianship of Joburg Property Company, which they accuse of corruption and incompetence.
A group of 100 protestors on Wednesday marched to the City of Johannesburg to deliver a memorandum of demands seeking to be placed directly under management of the city instead of its agency.
Johannesburg Property Company (JPC) is in charge of all of the city's properties including the Mai-Mai market, but traders are now claiming it has failed them.
“JPC hasn’t been doing its job. The market is in utter shambles. There is corruption and maladministration. There is no development in the area. We are tired of JPC. We want it not to manage us anymore and get out. We want the municipality to manage us like before. Kwa Mai-Mai is ours,” said secretary of the Kwa Mai-Mai committee Katlego Mlambo.
A clothes seller and sewer at the market, Sithembiso Magubane, said JPC has failed to deliver services.
“We are complaining about lack of service delivery from JPC. We require services such as maintenance, security and cleaning services. We want the municipality to maintain Kwa Mai-Mai. The place doesn’t represent what we do inside. Our customers don’t feel safe. The place is dirty and neglected,” said Magubane.
A meat trader at the market, who did not want to be named, said they no longer wanted JPC and wanted to be under the control of the Joburg municipality so that they can get water, electricity and proper policing at the market.
Nonhlakanipho Nedzamba from the office of the speaker of the Joburg council received the memorandum of demands.
“We have heard your cries and we promise you that by tomorrow we will submit this demands at the mayor’s office,” said Nedzamba.
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