{"id":21902,"date":"2022-06-10T15:00:31","date_gmt":"2022-06-10T15:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/chinese-told-to-start-renting-houseslocal-authorities-to-investigate-living-in-shops"},"modified":"2022-06-10T15:00:31","modified_gmt":"2022-06-10T15:00:31","slug":"chinese-told-to-start-renting-houseslocal-authorities-to-investigate-living-in-shops","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/chinese-told-to-start-renting-houseslocal-authorities-to-investigate-living-in-shops","title":{"rendered":"Chinese told to start renting houses\u2026local authorities to investigate living in shops"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Namibia. <\/strong><\/span> <\/b>A recent dispute between a Chinese businesswoman and a local street vendor, that ended with the woman paying an admission of guilt fine, has increased complaints against how Chinese businesspeople operate and behave.<\/p>\n

The outrage has prompted local authorities to promise to investigate the accommodation arrangements of these shop owners.<\/p>\n

Members of Swapo Party Youth League (SPYL) joined other activists in expressing their frustration over Chinese nationals who allegedly reside on their business premises.<\/p>\n

The youth wing noted that some Chinese-owned shops double as apartments.<\/p>\n

They feel foreign traders who make their offices\/shops a home away from home is troubling on several fronts, calling the practice inappropriate and compromising the local rental business\u2019 cash flow.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have taken note of the foreign traders, mostly Chinese, who have demarcated their shops to improvise for their residents yet they are operating business from business zoned erven. This does not only compromise the quality of health in their towns but deprive local businesses of the estate enterprise income.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t see the Chinese at rental apartments or houses where they are supposed to be renting. They are supposed to employ our youth as cleaners and domestic workers in their residences as well. How are they issued with fitness certificates in such situations?\u201d asked SPYL\u2019s secretary of labour and justice Willem Amutenya.<\/p>\n

He added the local authorities are failing to address the matter, thus many Chinese took advantage and are sleeping inside their shops.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow we are not sure if Chinese have toilets inside their business premises or they relieve themselves in the bottles and pour urine on the people, like it happened recently in Windhoek,\u201d he stressed.<\/p>\n

Amutenya suspects that the lack of ablution facilities on the premises could be the reason the Chinese national, Weng Long Zumei, \u201chad urine in a bottle\u201d.<\/p>\n

He therefore called on local authorities across the country to inspect foreign businesses \u201cas soon as possible\u201d and fully enforce the Public Health Act and all health regulations to monitor and control business activities in their respective towns.\u201d<\/p>\n

It is alleged that the Chinese business community ditch the residential demarcations and sleep in their shops to avoid paying rent.<\/p>\n

Approached for comment, Lu Hairong, Chinese embassy spokesperson said, \u201cThe Chinese embassy in Namibia always request every Chinese here to abide by local laws. If there are any unlawful activities by Chinese citizens, they should be dealt with according to relevant laws.\u201d<\/p>\n

Over the years, the topic that some Chinese reside behind their stores arises in the public now and then. Residing behind a store is a tradition of doing business in China.<\/p>\n

Among 2 000 or less Chinese business people in Namibia, not all of them are sleeping on their business premises. Many Chinese businessmen or businesswomen have their residences separate from their working areas. Some shop owners sleep in the business premises for the purposes of saving money or the convenience of working.<\/p>\n

The complaints have prompted some of the local authorities to consider carrying out investigations into the allegations.<\/p>\n

The mayor of Oshakati, Leonard Hango, condemned the practice, saying everyone, including foreigners, should rent or buy houses as it is the best and legal way, they can support local businesses.<\/p>\n

\u201cOshakati Town Council did not give any consent to the Chinese to reside in their business premises. Therefore, we will investigate this allegation and find an amicable solution,\u201d Hango added.<\/p>\n

Oshikango and Windhoek are among the towns with a high number of Chinese-owned businesses.<\/p>\n

The mayor of Helao Nafidi Town Council, Darius Shaalukeni, said the council will also investigate the matter as soon as possible before it causes chaos in society.<\/p>\n

City of Windhoek spokesperson Harold Akwenye, however, disputed the allegations, stating a year or two ago, the city conducted an investigation into the alleged practice but they proved to be untrue.<\/p>\n

According to him, the investigation was made by the health and safety officers at Chinatown.<\/p>\n

\u201cOr maybe somehow they got wind of it but at this point, we are not aware of it unless there is concrete evidence than I can comment on that but at this point in time, it is just an allegation,\u201d said Akwenye.<\/p>\n

He added it is prohibited for people to live\/stay on business premises.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf a building is zoned for business, than it is illegal to have a residential (sleeping area) within that building,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

However, Lu disputed this, saying, \u201cas far as we know, such activities of the Chinese residing behind stores don\u2019t violate laws despite criticism from some locals. For example, the Windhoek Town Planning Scheme legally constituted in terms of the Urban and Regional Planning Act of 2018 regulates land use in Windhoek.<\/p>\n

On land zoned \u2018business\u2019 dwelling units and\/or residential buildings can be allowed provided that such dwelling units meet the provision of the scheme as well as any other legislation (e.g. Health Regulations, Building Regulations, etc.). However, in the case of land zoned \u2018industrial\u2019 dwelling units and\/or residential use is not allowed.\u201d<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Namibia<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Namibia. A recent dispute between a Chinese businesswoman and a local street vendor, that ended with the woman paying an admission of guilt fine, has increased complaints against how Chinese businesspeople operate and behave. The outrage has prompted local authorities to promise to investigate the accommodation arrangements of these shop owners. Members of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":21901,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3,8,16],"tags":[234,236,233],"class_list":["post-21902","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-community","category-homepage-english","category-twitter","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-namibia","tag-namibia"],"yoast_head":"\nChinese told to start renting houses\u2026local authorities to investigate living in shops - Namibia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/chinese-told-to-start-renting-houseslocal-authorities-to-investigate-living-in-shops\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Chinese told to start renting houses\u2026local authorities to investigate living in shops\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Africa-Press – Namibia. A recent dispute between a Chinese businesswoman and a local street vendor, that ended with the woman paying an admission of guilt fine, has increased complaints against how Chinese businesspeople operate and behave. The outrage has prompted local authorities to promise to investigate the accommodation arrangements of these shop owners. Members of […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/chinese-told-to-start-renting-houseslocal-authorities-to-investigate-living-in-shops\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Namibia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-06-10T15:00:31+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/chinese-told-to-start-renting-houseslocal-authorities-to-investigate-living-in-shops#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/chinese-told-to-start-renting-houseslocal-authorities-to-investigate-living-in-shops\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Chinese told to start renting houses\u2026local authorities to investigate living in shops\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-06-10T15:00:31+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/chinese-told-to-start-renting-houseslocal-authorities-to-investigate-living-in-shops\"},\"wordCount\":857,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/chinese-told-to-start-renting-houseslocal-authorities-to-investigate-living-in-shops#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nambia\/sites\/29\/2022\/06\/postQueueImg_4-62a3698916b6f.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"africa press\",\"Africa Press-Namibia\",\"namibia\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"community\",\"homepage-english\",\"twitter\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/chinese-told-to-start-renting-houseslocal-authorities-to-investigate-living-in-shops#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/chinese-told-to-start-renting-houseslocal-authorities-to-investigate-living-in-shops\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/chinese-told-to-start-renting-houseslocal-authorities-to-investigate-living-in-shops\",\"name\":\"Chinese told to start renting houses\u2026local authorities to investigate living in shops - Namibia\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/chinese-told-to-start-renting-houseslocal-authorities-to-investigate-living-in-shops#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/chinese-told-to-start-renting-houseslocal-authorities-to-investigate-living-in-shops#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nambia\/sites\/29\/2022\/06\/postQueueImg_4-62a3698916b6f.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-06-10T15:00:31+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/chinese-told-to-start-renting-houseslocal-authorities-to-investigate-living-in-shops#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/chinese-told-to-start-renting-houseslocal-authorities-to-investigate-living-in-shops\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/chinese-told-to-start-renting-houseslocal-authorities-to-investigate-living-in-shops#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nambia\/sites\/29\/2022\/06\/postQueueImg_4-62a3698916b6f.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nambia\/sites\/29\/2022\/06\/postQueueImg_4-62a3698916b6f.jpg\",\"width\":720,\"height\":404,\"caption\":\"Chinese told to start renting houses\u2026local authorities to investigate living in shops\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/chinese-told-to-start-renting-houseslocal-authorities-to-investigate-living-in-shops#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Chinese told to start renting houses\u2026local authorities to investigate living in shops\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/\",\"name\":\"Namibia\",\"description\":\"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\",\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"cfeditoren\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Chinese told to start renting houses\u2026local authorities to investigate living in shops - Namibia","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/chinese-told-to-start-renting-houseslocal-authorities-to-investigate-living-in-shops","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Chinese told to start renting houses\u2026local authorities to investigate living in shops","og_description":"Africa-Press – Namibia. A recent dispute between a Chinese businesswoman and a local street vendor, that ended with the woman paying an admission of guilt fine, has increased complaints against how Chinese businesspeople operate and behave. The outrage has prompted local authorities to promise to investigate the accommodation arrangements of these shop owners. Members of […]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/chinese-told-to-start-renting-houseslocal-authorities-to-investigate-living-in-shops","og_site_name":"Namibia","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa","article_published_time":"2022-06-10T15:00:31+00:00","author":"cfeditoren","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"cfeditoren","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/chinese-told-to-start-renting-houseslocal-authorities-to-investigate-living-in-shops#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/chinese-told-to-start-renting-houseslocal-authorities-to-investigate-living-in-shops"},"author":{"name":"cfeditoren","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"headline":"Chinese told to start renting houses\u2026local authorities to investigate living in shops","datePublished":"2022-06-10T15:00:31+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/chinese-told-to-start-renting-houseslocal-authorities-to-investigate-living-in-shops"},"wordCount":857,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/chinese-told-to-start-renting-houseslocal-authorities-to-investigate-living-in-shops#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nambia\/sites\/29\/2022\/06\/postQueueImg_4-62a3698916b6f.jpg","keywords":["africa press","Africa Press-Namibia","namibia"],"articleSection":["all news","community","homepage-english","twitter"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/chinese-told-to-start-renting-houseslocal-authorities-to-investigate-living-in-shops#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/chinese-told-to-start-renting-houseslocal-authorities-to-investigate-living-in-shops","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/chinese-told-to-start-renting-houseslocal-authorities-to-investigate-living-in-shops","name":"Chinese told to start renting houses\u2026local authorities to investigate living in shops - Namibia","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/chinese-told-to-start-renting-houseslocal-authorities-to-investigate-living-in-shops#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/chinese-told-to-start-renting-houseslocal-authorities-to-investigate-living-in-shops#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nambia\/sites\/29\/2022\/06\/postQueueImg_4-62a3698916b6f.jpg","datePublished":"2022-06-10T15:00:31+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/chinese-told-to-start-renting-houseslocal-authorities-to-investigate-living-in-shops#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/chinese-told-to-start-renting-houseslocal-authorities-to-investigate-living-in-shops"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/chinese-told-to-start-renting-houseslocal-authorities-to-investigate-living-in-shops#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nambia\/sites\/29\/2022\/06\/postQueueImg_4-62a3698916b6f.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nambia\/sites\/29\/2022\/06\/postQueueImg_4-62a3698916b6f.jpg","width":720,"height":404,"caption":"Chinese told to start renting houses\u2026local authorities to investigate living in shops"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/chinese-told-to-start-renting-houseslocal-authorities-to-investigate-living-in-shops#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Chinese told to start renting houses\u2026local authorities to investigate living in shops"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/","name":"Namibia","description":"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb","name":"cfeditoren","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"cfeditoren"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21902","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/84"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21902"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21902\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21901"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21902"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21902"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21902"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}