This will be followed by a complete launch of the fully-fledged operational phase to the general public in August 2025.
While set to be South Africa’s first large scale Food Market, the MIF will adopt the Commission Agents trading model used by other national fresh produce markets.

This means that sales at the Food Market will occur through intermediaries, commonly known as Fresh produce Market Agents.  
They will be responsible for selling the produce on behalf of farmers, serving as aggregators and intermediaries of fresh produce.  

These agents, through the MIF, will assist local producers and ensuring that their products are available at a convenient place and time, in their requested quantities and quality, at fair prices.

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The Head of Department, Cain Chunda says it is against this background that the department, working collaboratively with the Operator at the MIF, is calling on enterprises that are interested in serving as Market Agents at the MIF, to submit their bid proposals so that they receive training to become accredited agents to trade in fresh produce at the Mpumalanga International FoodMarket.  

“We believe that this is part of our efforts to drive the sector towards diversity, inclusivity and equitability.  Bid documents are accessible and can be downloaded from https://www.mif.market website, and the closing date for submission is 25 April 2025, while a briefing will be held in Mbombela on April 10 and 11, respectively.  Interested parties can follow our social media platforms for full details”, said Chunda.

The post DARDLEA calls for market agents appeared first on MP Mirror Online.

Bishop Mapholoba Andries Letswalo’s dismissal comes after he allegedly spread lies about the department’s HOD Cain Chunda. An internal investigation conducted by cyber experts and professional investigators found that Bishop Letswalo was behind the drafting of the ‘dossier’ document. Titled “Allegations of Corrupt Activities by the HOD of Agriculture in Mpumalanga–Mr CM Chunda.”

The department’s spokesperson, Zanele Shabangu, confirmed the dismal. In a 10-page document that was circulating, it stated that “the letter which was disseminated to a host of people which included journalists. It claims that Mr Cain C.M Chunda has stolen more than R90 million through the Greening Badplaas Project.

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“We have paid only R34 million so far to the service providers appointed and paid by Letswalo himself. This was months before the appointment of Chunda to the position of HOD on 1 June 2021.”

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The document further stated, “What Letswalo does not say in his so-called dishonest ‘dossier’ is that the National Department of Agriculture funded and strictly monitored the project. Provincial Department does not fund it. The letter also claims that the Honorable Premier Refilwe Mtshweni-Tsipane sends people around to collect money from service providers. An allegation that is backed by no fact. Even the people said to be sent around know nothing about it. It is startling by such a smear campaign of the worse and disparate kind.”

They also discovered that a certain politician in the ANC “Focus” slate allegedly used him to tarnish the Premier’s name. This was to maintain their access to the department’s tenders.

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