Africa-Press – Namibia. CITY Police chief Abraham Kanime says the vendors who were stopped from conducting business at the service station along the former Monte Christo Road had been moved for their own safety.
About 20 vendors The Namibian spoke to were removed from the area and relocated to a loading terminal on Hereford Road last week.
The area, next to Sam Nujoma Stadium, is used by vendors and most minibus operators travelling to the north of the country.
Many of the vendors who The Namibian spoke to demanded to know why they were removed.
Some claim it is because the owner of a local service station doesn’t want them conducting business there.
Kanime said the city has regulations, which is why vendors were removed from Peter Nanyemba Road, previously known as Monte Christo Road.
He said since 2019, efforts were made to remove the street vendors from the road.
“It is dangerous. Last year three lives were lost at the same time when a truck lost control, killing three who were trading alongside the road. The road is very busy.
“We are sensitive to the plight of our vendors and traders, but we are concerned about their safety,” Kanime said.
Fransina Thomas has been a vendor since the Ramatex factory closed and she lost her job.
She makes ends meet by selling vetkoek and oshikundu, among other items.
“The City of Windhoek chased us away, they should give us another place to sell. We were told the municipality will build on the land we used to conduct our business,” Thomas said.
A manager at the Engen service station, who preferred to remain anonymous, was unable to comment on the matter because he was not authorised to do so. He said the owner is on holiday in Cape Town, and will only be back in a week’s time.
Another vendor, Johanna Shaende (49) said the new spot they were moved to is not conducive for business, as there are no toilets or running water.
“We want the municipality and the owner of the Engen service station to consult us, and to consider allocating a portion of land to us. This is how we put bread on our tables. Do they want us to survive by eating from dumping skips or bins?”
Kapana vendor Ben Salomon (31) said he works on commission, and has been negatively affected by the move because most of his customers were from the Lafrenz area, who no longer cross the road to where the vendors are now located.
“This is a loss because this meat is perishable. If I don’t sell it all in few days time, I will have to pay the money back to the meat owner or accumulate debts. I am a father of four and I will be unable to feed my family.”
City of Windhoek’s spokesperson, Harold Akwenye, said the street vendors were allocated a place 70 to 100 metres from the spot where they were previously selling.
“These vendors are playing the victim, because they were allocated space already, which they claim is far from their potential customers and where they refuse to sell from. They decided to move to a road reserve, which is illegal,” said Akwenye.
“The city has future plans to widen the road, due to congestion. It is a hazard, as the vendors use open fire and were located 30 metres from the service station, which is dangerous. We can’t allow people to take the law into their own hands. We have engaged them since last year May, but they don’t seem to take the message seriously,” he said.
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