Festive season brings no joy

Festive season brings no joyVendors say no one came During the festive season vendors at open markets in the north hope to score big bucks as many people travel for the holidays, however this time around, it was not the case for them. Vendors at the Oshakati open market say although they received a large number of visitors during the festive season, it was business as usual for them as they did not make the high profits as anticipated during this time of the year.

Namibian Sun yesterday visited the market where vendors were doing the usual of manning their stalls and waiting for potential buyers to purchase their products, saying that it was the same situation during December.

The vendors told Namibian Sun they did not make good business at all saying that people would only ask for prices but not buy.

“Yes, we did have a lot of people in the open market in December but they would just walk around, ask for prices and promise to come back, which did not happen,” a vendor, who identified herself as Martha, said.

“We were looking forward to doing good business during this time when people are coming from various towns but this December was just like any other month,” Martha added.

Another vendor spoken to said that the issue of the country's economic situation should not be used as an excuse making reference to her observation that supermarkets were always full in December and people would be purchasing a lot of items at once.

She said people should not say they do not have money but rather that they do not want to support the local people trying to make a living.

“During December, when you went into those supermarkets they were always full to capacity and people were mostly shopping with the big trolleys. This is not good for us and for the country because while Namibians are trying to make a living from selling locally produced items, we still buy from those shops which are not locally owned,” the vendor argued.

Meanwhile, the vendors at the Oshakati open market have been demonstrating for many months now arguing that the monthly rental set by the Town Council is too high as they are not making enough to make ends meet.

Council has responded to the petitions, saying that the prices are reasonable.

KENYA KAMBOWE