Ongwediva to tackle informal traders
Tuyeimo Haidula
Ongwediva
Come 1 March, the Ongwediva town council will no longer allow informal traders to sell goods at prohibited spots. Noncompliers will face a fine of N$2 000, six months’ imprisonment or both.
According to Ongwediva spokesperson Jackson Muma, council kicked off an awareness campaign at the beginning of this month to urge informal traders to make necessary arrangements to formalise their operations.
He added that council does not have an idea of how many traders’ operations will be shut down once they start implementing this new regulation.
“We don’t have a database yet. The regulation will enable council to register them to have an accurate number. The punishment, as stipulated in the regulation, is N$2 000, six months’ imprisonment or both. However, council is in the process of acquiring a fine list from the magistrate for minor offences,” he said.
Muma said they have engaged stakeholders to assist council, including the Namibian Police, business representatives, management of malls and community activists.
Approved trading sites
Popular spots in and around Ongwediva - such as the Marula trees along Kalomho Kuutondokwa Street and between Bennies Park and Maroela Mall as well as the trees at the entrance of Okandjengedi Primary School and the area next to Chicco Mall - have been designated as trading sites, while the council seeks to establish formal sites for informal traders.
Meanwhile, the town council has also allocated every Tuesday and Thursday to street vendors to trade at the open market at a cost of N$10 per person per day.
Muma said informal traders will be expected to register their names with the council on a date to be announced and will be issued with the necessary documentation.
This, he said, will assist them to better plan for future.
Foreign traders from neighbouring countries who intend to trade in Ongwediva are expected to carry trading permits from relevant offices. Local traders will be expected to carry trading identification documents whenever they conduct business, he said.
[email protected]
Ongwediva
Come 1 March, the Ongwediva town council will no longer allow informal traders to sell goods at prohibited spots. Noncompliers will face a fine of N$2 000, six months’ imprisonment or both.
According to Ongwediva spokesperson Jackson Muma, council kicked off an awareness campaign at the beginning of this month to urge informal traders to make necessary arrangements to formalise their operations.
He added that council does not have an idea of how many traders’ operations will be shut down once they start implementing this new regulation.
“We don’t have a database yet. The regulation will enable council to register them to have an accurate number. The punishment, as stipulated in the regulation, is N$2 000, six months’ imprisonment or both. However, council is in the process of acquiring a fine list from the magistrate for minor offences,” he said.
Muma said they have engaged stakeholders to assist council, including the Namibian Police, business representatives, management of malls and community activists.
Approved trading sites
Popular spots in and around Ongwediva - such as the Marula trees along Kalomho Kuutondokwa Street and between Bennies Park and Maroela Mall as well as the trees at the entrance of Okandjengedi Primary School and the area next to Chicco Mall - have been designated as trading sites, while the council seeks to establish formal sites for informal traders.
Meanwhile, the town council has also allocated every Tuesday and Thursday to street vendors to trade at the open market at a cost of N$10 per person per day.
Muma said informal traders will be expected to register their names with the council on a date to be announced and will be issued with the necessary documentation.
This, he said, will assist them to better plan for future.
Foreign traders from neighbouring countries who intend to trade in Ongwediva are expected to carry trading permits from relevant offices. Local traders will be expected to carry trading identification documents whenever they conduct business, he said.
[email protected]
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