Paheja Siririka
WINDHOEK - Local artists Adora Kisting and Tulinane Amushila, aka Tulisan, through their manager AB Amushila, the executive officer of Phoenix Media Group Namibia, have decided to give copies of their CDs to the street vendors to sell on their behalf.
Adora’s latest album ‘Rise’ was delivered to a vendor last Thursday. “We delivered the first copies to our first street vendor. Her name is Ousie Winnie and she is stationed opposite City Treff in Otjomuise. N$40 off each CD she sells goes to her,” said Amushila.
Spesking to New Era, Ousie Winnie said she has already sold one CD and said she adores Adora. “I like her music and the way she dances,” she said.
Ousie Winnie sells fruits and vegetables, chips and sweets. “We live to empower,” said Amushila, co-founder of Phoenix Media Group Namibia.
“We are a community of black people that want to empower each other,” he said.
The places that the group is planning on distributing its CDs apart from City Treff is the bus stops at Okuryangava, and Goreangab. “We want at least five major stops in Katutura and broadening further, reaching places such as Okahandja and Otjiwarongo,” said Amushila.
“We want the CDs to be easily accessible,” said Amushila.
Asked how the group would hold the vendors accountable for the sale of the CDs, Amushila replied: “We will take their numbers plus the advantage of this initiative or the vendors we are approaching is they have been operating in one area for a long time and they are going nowhere.”
“It’s better for them to run away with the CD and spread the music rather than just being there in the streets doing nothing,” he said.
On whether any unemployed person can act as an agent for Phoenix Media Group Namibia, Amushila said they did not think about that, emphasising that their priority for now is streets vendors.
“I went to university with someone whose mother paid his fees from selling items on the streets as a vendor,” said Amushila, in emphasising the importance of street vendors to Namibia’s socio-economic fabric.
Each identified street vendor would received stock of 10 CDs, said Amushila.