Oshakati vendors feel the pinch

Oshakati vendors feel the pinchCan no longer afford market stands Vendors at Oshakati's new marketplace want the council to lower the rent they agreed to a few months ago. Vendors trading at the new Oshakati open market can no longer afford the rent they agreed to at the beginning of the year.

About 100 vendors yesterday marched to the Oshakati town council building to call for the rent to be lowered to N$200 or less.

They handed over a petition to the council's CEO, Werner Iita, who was surprised by the action of the vendors.

Iita said no official complaint had previously reached his office.

He added the vendors had notified the council on Monday of their plan to stage a demonstration.

“We only received your notification yesterday, 22 May. We never had a problem with you and this is the first time we hear about this problem,” Iita said.

The vendors claimed that they had indeed complained to the Open Market coordinator, Thomas Salomon, who ? understands is currently on leave.

In the petition read on behalf of the vendors by Maria Aiyambo, they said the rent was exorbitant and they could longer afford it.

In particular, they complained about the N$1 200 monthly rent charged for large stalls. According to the council, however, nobody has been allocated one of these stalls yet.

Namibian Sun also understands that the vendors accepted the tariffs after the council had lowered its proposed tariffs on a number of occasions.

Although expressing gratitude to the council for constructing the open market which cost about N$90 million, the vendors accused the council of turning the facility into a money-making scheme instead of helping the poor to make a living.

“We thought the new open market was a better place, really it is a sucking of blood…why do we have to pay a lot of money? How are we going to survive? Do you want us to go with empty hands to our children?” the petition reads.

“If the price or rent cannot be reduced, it is better for us to go back to our old place and erect our tents,” the petition reads.

According to the municipality's tariff structure, the monthly rent at the market ranges from N$100 for a drinks or cosmetic stand to N$40 for selling traditional products in the open, N$65 for selling traditional products in shaded areas, N$150 for selling cooked food and drinks, N$45 for chicken vendors, N$300 for fish and raw meat vendors, and N$600 for a stall with a small storeroom.

The vendors gave the council 21 days to respond to their concerns.

The market was inaugurated by President Hage Geingob last year and currently there are 997 vendors trading there.





KENYA KAMBOWE