Africa-Press – Namibia. LOCAL kapana vendors at the Oshikango open market in the Ohangwena region are up in arms with the town council over what they deem as poor service delivery and exorbitant operating charges.
The vendors say the Helao Nafidi Town Council is imposing stricter rules on them and that they cannot afford the monthly fees for operating at the open market.
A number of vendors have therefore abandoned their stalls to trade elsewhere.
Monika Hauwanga, a kapana vendor at the Oshikango open market, says the kapana stalls are not built properly and they are forced to use makeshift structures to utilise them.
Additionally, the kapana section is situated at the far end of the market where customers hardly reach, she says.
“These stalls are too high. One has to use a crate of cooldrinks to climb onto. Another thing is that the town council is charging us a lot of money which we hardly earn, because we do not have customers.
“Sometimes a day can go by without selling anything, but when month-end comes, you are forced to pay for your stall – whether you want it or not. This is painful for us,” Hauwanga says.
Around 10 kapana vendors currently operate at the market’s kapana section.
The vendors are further accusing the town council of poor service delivery, saying they don’t have electricity and they are forced to pay for water usage, in adition to their monthly rental amount.
Another vendor, Helena Shinedima, says they are operating in filthy conditions as the toilets are dirty or out of order, and the area where they operate is unhygienic.
Helao Nafidi mayor Darius Shaalukeni says the council has in the past met with the vendors at the open market regarding their complaints, but some are refusing to cooperate with the town council’s regulations.
The kapana vendors at the market pay N$50 per month to operate, and N$2 per container of water.
“Some of their demands are just unrealistic, to be honest. We have held several meetings with them, and we have even agreed to reduce their monthly tarrifs because many of them they could not pay.
“They just want to be offered services for free, which is totally unrealistic, because we as the town council also have bills to pay. We cannot allow them to operate at the open market for free. We have to charge them for using the open market,” Shaalukeni says.
He says the council has not electrified the kapana section as a pre-cautionary measure, since the vendors use firewood to light up their fires.
“We as the town council fully understand their complaints and are there to provide them with effective service delivery, but they are giving us a hard time because they do not want to cooperate with the town council.”
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