OKAHANDJA – Vendors at the Okahandja woodcarvers craft market are bemoaning the lack of customers, as a week can go by without them selling anything.

In an interview with Nampa, Moses Kambala, who has been trading at the market since 1994, said the post-Covid-19 business has drastically declined, which has resulted in a decline in sales.

“We sit here, hoping, but there are no customers. Long ago, customers were here; now, there are just one or three here and there. Things are not looking good,” he expressed.

Another vendor, Elizabeth Daniel, who has been operating since 1999, stressed that the number of traders at the market has increased over the years, resulting in vendors having to compete for the customer base, adding that the number of tourists visiting the market has drastically declined.

“Sometimes, you can stay one week without even making N$1 – even though you come every day and you pay a taxi,” she said.

The market leader, Petrus Ndumba, said the market has a total of 150 vendors registered.

He explained the vendors are operating currently in temporary makeshift structures, as the land they are operating from is owned by the government, hence they wish to get land rights to construct a proper open craft market.

Ndumba explained they got the open land – erf 115 – to operate from in 1991 through the late former minister Joel Kaapanda, and that the 150 vendors operate under his registered company, Ndumba CC 1.

“At least we want to own the land so that we can build nice, attractive structures and ablution facilities for our customers. We are grateful that we still have business; now with the internet, our products have reached a wider platform,” he said.– Nampa