Maria Kleu is the only Joburg Market employee who received a certificate for 40 years of service in the City recently.
The 62-year-old Kleu, who started working at the Joburg Market as a Cashier in 1979, is now a proud IT Analyst.
Kleu started joined the Joburg Market aged 22. “I was part of the team that sat with external agents to build the Market’s digital sales system in 1998,” she says.
Kleu was taking her morning jog when she heard that the Market was looking to hire cashiers. She has remained athletic since and was awarded Gauteng Provincial Colours for basketball at age 42.
On Friday, 5 July, Kleu joined a long queue of some of the City’s longest-serving employees, who have had a 40-year tenure of service in the municipality. They were honoured by the Executive Mayor, Cllr Herman Mashaba, at the Gallagher Convention Centre with a certificate of appreciation for long service and a bag full of corporate gifts.
Kleu is still beaming with pride from the recognition. “One has had to have passion and patience working at the Market,” she says, and that fortitude has proven worthwhile.
She says patience means understanding that the customer “must be helped first”.
“Without helping the Market’s Sales Agents to run smooth sales, farmers will not get paid and the market will not get its income either.”
Her job as an IT Analyst entails testing all systems that programmers code to ensure compatibility with the Market’s current system’s functionalities.
Kleu would also relish the prospect of mentoring youngsters in her line of work before she retires.
The vibrant Kleu is only planning to retire in 2023 but says she’s not particularly looking forward to it. She is a foster grandparent to two young boys aged 12 and 13 and wishes to be able to put them through high school.
Written by Londiwe Mthethwa
