Trade Minister opens Onethindi open market

ONETHINDIPLACIDO HILUKILWA

Vendors operating at Onethindi in the Oshikoto Region have showered the Namibian government and the National Development Corporation (NDC) with praise for the construction of a modern open market, making their work more comfortable.
The vendors recalled the difficult conditions they endured throughout the years, selling their products in the open along the Ondangwa-Tsumeb road while exposed to the sun, rain, wind and dust and with no storage facilities.
They appreciated the government's response to their cry for assistance by constructing the N$15 million Okutopola Community Market at Onethindi.
The tenants further expressed the hope that with the new facility their work would become much easier and their businesses would prosper, eventually graduating from being SMEs to being business entities of repute.
"We want to grow our businesses and not to remain SMEs. We hope our government will continue to assist us," said one of the approximately 50 vendors.
The Okutopola Community Market - the first open market in the North with a ground floor as well as an upper floor -- was inaugurated by Trade and Industry Minister Calle Schlettwein last week.
The project was funded by the Ministry of Trade and Industry, with the NDC as the implementing agent.