Rudolf Gaiseb
From the capital’s city centre to the four corners of the country, women and men, young and old, engage in small-scale trade along the streets and in open markets to make ends meet.
This is the life of many Namibians who decided to work for themselves and their families by engaging in the cut-throat business of street vending.
Vendors in Windhoek shed light on their lives, struggles and triumphs.
Retrenched from her hotel receptionist job during the Covid-19 pandemic economic downturn, Kirm Simataa (30) decided to start selling fruits and vegetables near Ella du Plessis High School in Windhoek’s Khomasdal suburb.
“I am from Katima Mulilo. I moved to Windhoek a few years ago. I applied for political science at the Namibian University of Science and Technology (NUST), but never had a chance to study because I couldn’t afford to pay registration fees. After retrenchment, I was jobless. My family lives in Katima Mulilo. We are five in the family. I’m the oldest. Our father passed on. My mother found it hard to take care of us because she was unemployed. Therefore, I started this business to help my mom take care of the family,” she said. She added: “I want the government to give small loans to street vendors like us to boost our businesses because when you go to the bank for a loan for your small business, they tell us that we need to have a certain amount in the account for them to assist us with a loan, which most people do not have”. She makes roughly N$9 000 monthly, from which she helps take care of her siblings.
“Most products are imported from South Africa, but we usually buy them from ‘Stop and Shop’. Besides the fruits and vegetables, I also sell sweets to kids because we are close to a school,” she said.
Simataa said they face several challenges in the industry. Sometimes, there are no fresh products on the market that they end up not stocking up because customers refuse to purchase spoilt products.
“We tend to wait until those people bring in stock. That is when we can get our stock as well. Another challenge is that our tables are stolen during the night after we knock off. Sometimes, in the morning when you come, you find that the tables are all gone, and then we must rebuild again,” she divulged. She plans to continue her education after saving up enough.
Just next to Simataa’s stall, 41-year-old Pascal Muzaliwa from Congo is also conducting business.
He sells products ranging from fruits, vegetables and snacks with his son, Henry (16).
He uses the earnings to maintain his wife, mother and 10 children. “Most of my kids don’t work. The profits from these products help us to pay rent, and to afford our daily needs. But I’m selling only until I get a job,” he said. He urged the government to build some storage facilities for the vendors to store their products. The businessman said rain and the heat are some of the natural phenomena posing a challenge to their business. “We can sell the whole day, and store our products in these facilities. It will be good to ensure both the security and safety of our products. We can even start paying small amounts for these facilities. We also need a toilet. That will be helpful,” he said.
Muzaliwa revealed his family was forced to move to Namibia because of the civil war in Congo in 2010.
They first resided at the Osire refugee camp, where they engaged in subsistence farming.
They started their business in Windhoek last year.
Muzaliwa has refugee status.
“This business has many challenges, including transport. We have to pack and unpack every day – and in these movements, fragile products like eggs are broken,” he added.
Paulina Mberema (34) is a relentless hairdresser, who runs a business at the open market in the busy neighbourhood of Single Quarters.
She said she never got the opportunity to go to school, but found passion in making her fellow women look beautiful.
“I have been braiding since childhood, but became professional in 2012. I enjoy doing hair and making other women look beautiful. A woman’s beauty and confidence are visible when her hair is done,” she said.
She added: “I always had a desire to go to school – but unfortunately, I never had the chance, but I did not let that stop me from becoming who I wanted to be. I pushed through the hardships, asking what can I do for a living even if I don’t go to school?’ Making a living is not only about school, but also about what you love doing. Since I love doing hair, I chose to be a hairdresser,” she narrated.
Mberema was born in Nkurenkuru and raised in Outjo, but moved to Windhoek in search of a larger customer base.
She believes that the business is profitable, but during Covid-19, she underwent a heavy loss.
“There are challenges. There are times when customers line up in numbers – and other times, there are no customers, but it does not discourage me. Sometimes customers have money, and other times they don’t, but I try to be patient with them,” she noted. Mberema sustains herself, and raises six children with the money she makes from the small business. Renting in the same complex is Justy Hafeni, a 30-year-old seamstress, who has taken over her family’s business. She said she has been in the trade for seven years now. “The shop belonged to my mother, who taught me how to sew, especially during school holidays when I was young. Now that she is old, I have taken over the business,” she told this reporter.
They specialise in sewing all sorts of clothes, including wedding gowns, suits, shirts, trousers and school uniforms. She said, “Although we are doing good, we would appreciate it if the government could come and see what we can do with our hands”.
Besides urging the government for subsidies, Hafeni wants to be recruited into the police force ,and be granted tenders available for small businesses and the youth. Spokesperson of the City of Windhoek Harold Akwenye stated the figure of registered street vendors in Windhoek is 890.
He said the number of unregistered vendors is unknown. “They [unregistered vendors] are removed off the streets, but they pop up somewhere else,” he added.
–rrgaiseb@gmail.com