THE 75-year-old Tongaat Daily Market, a historical landmark since 1948, is set to receive R2.5 million in repairs from the Thekwini Municipality.

However, long-time traders express concerns about implementation timelines and the impact on their livelihoods.

Over the years the building has gone into a state of disrepair, leaving traders uncomfortable and fearing for their safety.

Many of the traders said they faced daily thefts because of the holes in the roof which had not been repaired for years.

They claimed vagrants slept in an adjoining vacant room, and at night they crawled through the holes in the roof and stole their wares.

While R2.5 million has been earmarked for the upgrade, the traders said they were not optimistic that the repairs would be done.

Tongaat Daily Market. Picture: Shelley Kjonstad/African News Agency (ANA)

Thara Narain, 67, has been trading fresh produce at the market since she was married 47 years ago.

“My husband and I took over my in-laws’ stall after they got too old to continue trading. Since then I have been selling fresh produce to support our family,” said Narain.

Her husband, Ramdass Narain, 74, is an amputee and unable to help at the market, which leaves her running the stall by herself.

“My husband’s health is poor. Every week, we have paras (beggars) breaking into my stall. Recently, they stole almost R2 000 worth of beans. We barely make any profits. This sets us back,” said Narain.

She said business had been on a downward spiral since the Covid-19 pandemic when they had to close their stalls during the lockdown.

She said the market had also seen a decrease in customers because of the growing number of supermarkets and malls in Tongaat.

“We even have to compete with the street vendors. They steal our foot traffic from outside our door. We are really struggling. We barely get anyone buying from us,” said Narain.

She said that with all the issues they faced, they still paid their R400 rent per stall.

“We need many repairs urgently. There is no ventilation, no water and at times no electricity. The poor ventilation has a negative impact on our fresh produce as it rots quickly.

“The city had a meeting with us but they neglected to explain the time frame for the renovations. We cannot have our stalls closed indefinitely. It’s our bread and butter. Without it, we will starve,” said Narain.

She said she often reminisced about the “good old days” when the market was bustling with people.

The broken ceilings and roof. Picture: Monishkã Govender

“Those days were beautiful. This stall put food on my table and got my children through university. It paid for two of my three children’s university education as well as the residence fees when one of them studied in Johannesburg. This stall means so much to us. I worked hard because I never wanted my children to follow in my path. I wanted them to be educated, without having to do manual labour,” said Narain.

Narain’s eldest son Sanjay helps with her stall. Her second son Dr Rivendra Narain, was a maths professor at UKZN until he was murdered at his home in Watsonia in 2020, and her daughter Renesha is a chartered accountant.

“Before my son died, he wanted me to give up the stall and concentrate on being happy at home with my husband. He said he would cover our expenses. Unfortunately, he passed away and we had to still run the stall,” she added.

Another stallholder, who did not want to be named, said they had been trading at the market for 33 years and that it had not been repaired or renovated in ages.

“We had a meeting in December with the city and they said the renovations would start in the middle of January. To date, this has not materialised. I hope the repairs happen soon.

“We also need to be told how this would impact the trading. Are they closing one stall at a time to fix the roof or the whole market? We can manage one at a time for a few days but nothing more, otherwise we will suffer,” said the stallholder.

He said they were fed up with the endless broken promises from the municipality.

“The municipality does nothing to help us. They do not allocate money in the budget to fix the problems. We have holes in the roof. The stallholders often get together and try to fix the problem, but we have limited resources.

“The renovations will take months, leaving us without an income. This is unacceptable. There is no proper plan. We do not know how this will affect our livelihoods,” he added.

According to reports, the Tongaat Daily Market upgrade is estimated to begin mid-February and will take four months to complete.

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