Omatala demonstrators accused of lying
The Oshakati town council’s chief executive officer, Werner Iita, says the vendors who staged a protest demanding lower rent at the town’s open market earlier this week did not tell the truth.
Iita said the council suspected that the group was instigated by a third party in order to cause chaos and make the town ungovernable.
“Their cry is not genuine. Those people are not telling the truth. At the open market we have a committee which consists of vendors who operate at the market and they were elected legitimately to listen to the issues of the vendors and report to the council. Why are they sidestepping the committee if they elected them?” Iita asked.
“We suspect that there is someone who is instigating them to make the town ungovernable, which is something we are not going to tolerate.”
Iita said the council did respond to the demands of the vendors when they first marched to the council buildings in May. They demanded the lowering of rent, the erecting of signs to direct potential customers to the open market, as well as an access road from the old market to the new one.
“We responded to them the first time they protested, because if you look at the situation on the ground, we have erected signs directing people to the open market and as we speak the council is in the process of appointing a consulting engineer for the tarred access road which will connect the Oshakati–Okahao road with the new open market. What answers do they want?” Iita said.
On the issue of rent, Iita said the prices were reasonable and the council did not see any reason to lower them.
He said the highest rent paid at the moment is N$600 per month, while the vendors who sell recharge vouchers are charged only N$5 per day.
“The group always make reference to N$1 200, which is the price for a big stall but currently there is only one person out of the hundreds of vendors operating in that space and he only uses half of the space therefore he only pays N$600. We even contacted him and he said he was happy with the price. The people must learn to tell the truth,” Iita said.
“The people are paying their rent as the price is reasonable, therefore we also question whether the people that demonstrated are really vendors at the open market,” Iita further said.
Iita also pointed out that the protesters were demanding answers to issues they had not raised in their previous petition.
“We were surprised when the lady who read the petition was talking about issues pertaining to long-distance buses, and the issue of street vendors who they say must be given the right to sell wherever they want in town. This is evidence that the group is being used by certain people,” Iita said.
However, in order to find an amicable solution, all the vendors who rent stalls at the open market will be called to a meeting soon.
According to the municipality's tariff structure, the monthly rent at the market ranges from N$100 for a drinks or cosmetic stand to N$40 for selling traditional products in the open, N$65 for selling traditional products in shaded areas, N$150 for selling cooked food and drinks, N$45 for chicken vendors, N$300 for fish and raw meat vendors, and N$600 for a stall with a small storeroom.
KENYA KAMBOWE
Iita said the council suspected that the group was instigated by a third party in order to cause chaos and make the town ungovernable.
“Their cry is not genuine. Those people are not telling the truth. At the open market we have a committee which consists of vendors who operate at the market and they were elected legitimately to listen to the issues of the vendors and report to the council. Why are they sidestepping the committee if they elected them?” Iita asked.
“We suspect that there is someone who is instigating them to make the town ungovernable, which is something we are not going to tolerate.”
Iita said the council did respond to the demands of the vendors when they first marched to the council buildings in May. They demanded the lowering of rent, the erecting of signs to direct potential customers to the open market, as well as an access road from the old market to the new one.
“We responded to them the first time they protested, because if you look at the situation on the ground, we have erected signs directing people to the open market and as we speak the council is in the process of appointing a consulting engineer for the tarred access road which will connect the Oshakati–Okahao road with the new open market. What answers do they want?” Iita said.
On the issue of rent, Iita said the prices were reasonable and the council did not see any reason to lower them.
He said the highest rent paid at the moment is N$600 per month, while the vendors who sell recharge vouchers are charged only N$5 per day.
“The group always make reference to N$1 200, which is the price for a big stall but currently there is only one person out of the hundreds of vendors operating in that space and he only uses half of the space therefore he only pays N$600. We even contacted him and he said he was happy with the price. The people must learn to tell the truth,” Iita said.
“The people are paying their rent as the price is reasonable, therefore we also question whether the people that demonstrated are really vendors at the open market,” Iita further said.
Iita also pointed out that the protesters were demanding answers to issues they had not raised in their previous petition.
“We were surprised when the lady who read the petition was talking about issues pertaining to long-distance buses, and the issue of street vendors who they say must be given the right to sell wherever they want in town. This is evidence that the group is being used by certain people,” Iita said.
However, in order to find an amicable solution, all the vendors who rent stalls at the open market will be called to a meeting soon.
According to the municipality's tariff structure, the monthly rent at the market ranges from N$100 for a drinks or cosmetic stand to N$40 for selling traditional products in the open, N$65 for selling traditional products in shaded areas, N$150 for selling cooked food and drinks, N$45 for chicken vendors, N$300 for fish and raw meat vendors, and N$600 for a stall with a small storeroom.
KENYA KAMBOWE
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