Otjiwarongo vendors want public market

INFORMAL traders at Otjiwarongo have accused the town council of failing to construct a public market for them.

Otjiwarongo has nearly 1 000 informal traders.

In an interview with Nampa on Thursday, several vendors said business is dwindling due to the lack of proper structures to operate from.

As a result, informal traders as well as a lot of street vendors conduct their business at different spots around town, mostly in the central business district.

“We want a multi-purpose market. The municipality has deliberately failed to build a market for us,” said vendor Kapii Uazukuani.

She is the committee chairperson of the informal traders at Otjiwarongo, and operates near the fire brigade in town.

Her committee had discussed the matter with the municipality on several occasions since 2010, but nothing has come of these efforts, she noted.

Uazukuani said the 20 stalls allocated to her group near the fire brigade are vulnerable to wind, heat and rain.

Another informal trader, Kortilte Hiyolwa, said she will soon suspend paying the N$120 rent per month to the municipality, because they are not getting value for money.

“There is no business for me at this place. I depend on my old customers, who have known me since 2010 when I was operating from the town square mall,” she stated.

Hiyolwa added that the stalls near the fire brigade are far from most of their customers.

She said a proper public market will improve the situation as all traders will be accommodated in one building, and will have equal access to customers.

Hiyolwa blamed the municipality for the increase of street vendors at the town, saying this is because there is no public market and mechanisms to control the movements of street vendors or informal traders.

Elsie Kaheka, who sells cooked food under a tree, also blamed the municipality for removing her from a spot where the Otjiwarongo Town Square is now situated.

“At that old place, I made a good living off my business,” she said.

Kaheka called on the local authority to construct a proper market where different types of businesses can operate while maintaining law and order.

The Otjiwarongo municipality’s public relations officer, Adelheid Shilongo, told this news agency that the municipality is aware of the concerns of the traders.

“We plan to construct a public market, but the lack of funds is the main challenge we are facing,” she said. – Nampa