DA slams R2 Billion Mpumalanga Market Delay over lack of suppliers

image:  MPU-Market-Facebook-MPU-Provincial-Legislature

by Kelebogile Matlou

The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Mpumalanga has voiced strong concerns over the prolonged delay and ballooning costs associated with the province’s International Fresh Produce Market. Despite over R2 billion being spent on the facility’s construction, the market remains unopened and unused years after the project began.

Premier Mandla Ndlovu had promised the long-awaited opening would happen by the end of July. However, the provincial Department of Agriculture abruptly postponed the launch, citing technical administrative oversight. Compounding the delay is the fact that the local municipality is reportedly still working on by-laws necessary to regulate the functioning of the market.

Tersia Marshall, a DA member of the provincial legislature, highlighted a more pressing issue  the lack of suppliers to support the market.
“About R1.8 billion was spent, but more funding has been made available for the market to get it operational, and that amount has been in excess of R400 million. So, if you calculate that, it’s far over R2 billion that was spent here, and this market is still not operational. Our biggest concern is that we don’t have suppliers, we don’t have farmers that can supply this market. If you look at the size of the market and what it was built for, we don’t have that kind of supply in Mpumalanga,” she said.

The DA has called for greater transparency and accountability from the provincial government, questioning how such a costly project could proceed without a viable plan for supplier integration or operational readiness. The situation has not only raised alarm over wasteful expenditure but also over the broader planning failures in infrastructure development within the province.