Angolan traders flood border town

ILENI NANDJATO Increasing numbers of Angolan traders selling mahangu and other agricultural produce at Oshikango have forced the Helao Nafidi town council to allocate space for their informal businesses.The drought in Namibia increased the demand for their products in the country, enticing the traders to relocate their business operations from Santa Clara in Angola to Oshikango.They said in the past, Namibians used to cross the border to buy their products in Angola and payments were made in US dollars, but since the economic downturn in 2015 when the crude oil price slumped, they were forced to cross into Namibia to earn a living.The Helao Nafidi town council confirmed that when the economy declined in Angola and American dollars became scarce, traders began to flock to Oshikango and started selling their produce illegally on the streets. The council later moved the traders to a temporary spot behind the Okatwitwi location.Traders who spoke to Namibian Sun say survival in Angola became very difficult for them because of the economic challenges related to the foreign currency shortages. Since Namibia has been always their target market, they decided to bring their products to their customers. They say they have to go through Customs and they pay import levies on for all the goods they bring in.“We are affected by the economic situation. The US dollar had more value than the Namibian dollar and we could survive well. For now, that trading is done in kwanza and the value of the Namibian dollar is higher than the kwanza. We have to come do business here so that we are be able to survive the crisis,” says Anita Cambida.“For a 150kg bag of mahangu they are charging us N$35. It is still better because as business people we have to do cost recovery. The exchange rate is pathetic. In Angola, foreign currency exchange is done in the streets and those people will not use the correct exchange rate. They just do as they wish,” she says.Another trader, Felish Vascos, says the traders cross into Namibia in the morning to conduct their business and return to Angola in the afternoon.“Due to the drought, we are getting lot of customers, especially for mahangu grains and flour, whole maize and mealie meal, tomatoes, onions and potatoes. These are the produce we cultivate in our fields but since they are about to run out as the harvests are completed, we will start buying from our neighbours because Namibians are buying our products a lot,” Vascos says.However, the mayor of Helao Nafidi, Eliaser Nghipangelwa, says the Angolan traders are a problem at Oshikango.“They are coming in legally and that is why we had to allocate them a place to conduct their business. We cannot allow them to trade on the streets. As soon as our open market is completed and we have allocated all Namibian traders, then we will consider them - if there is space,” Nghipangelwa says.

Angolan traders flood border town

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Namibian Sun 2025-07-07

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Angolan traders flood border town

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Namibian Sun 2025-07-07

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