Pretoria’s famous Marabastad market has been shut down due to failure to comply with occupational health and safety standards.

The national employment and labour department said in a statement that a raid was conducted in the area to remove informal traders and illegal immigrants during operations on Monday.

Spokesperson at the department, Teboho Thejabe, said the joint operation which involved law enforcement and the department of home affairs happened after the owner of premises was served with a contravention notice.  

Traders have been prohibited from the use of the building because of safety hazards such as lack of fire-fighting and open electrical wires.  

“During the joint inspection, more than 20 people were arrested for  being illegal immigrants, employing illegal immigrants and employers who obstructed the inspectors from conducting their duties. It is illegal of an employer to interfere with the inspector when on duty,” Thejane said.

He said two stores were also closed at the Oriental Retail Complex situated near Marabastad, which authorities also visited. Thejane said the businesses would continue to be closed until they fix the concerns mentioned in the contravention notice.

Department of employment and labour chief director Fikiswa Bede said the inspection conducted at Marabastad Retail Market was led by the National Roving Team (NRT) that was established in 2021.

The NRT has conducted inspections in other provinces including the Eastern Cape, the Western Cape, and Mpumalanga, among others.

The prohibition notice will be removed once the owners of the building comply with the notice.

Bede said Marabastad was becoming a high-risk area for non-compliance, adding that it seemed traders were not concerned about safety issues.