Havana Vendors Demand Completion of Delayed Ongos–Eneas Peter Nanyemba Road Project NBC Online Sat, 05/31/2025 - 17:33

Street vendors operating along the constructed Ongos-Eneas Peter Nanyemba road, at the Havana informal settlement in Windhoek, have called for the urgent completion of the road project, saying the ongoing construction is disrupting their livelihoods. According to the vendors, construction on the road has been underway for the past three years with little visible progress, leaving them frustrated and concerned about the impact on their income. In an interview, a 45-year-old member of the vendors’ committee who preferred to remain anonymous and has been trading along the road since her teenage years, said there are over 3 000 vendors currently operating in the area. She noted that constructors had initially promised to relocate structures to create space and build a market for vendors to operate from – a promise that has not been fulfilled. “We want the construction to be completed. They said they would move the mbashus (makeshift stalls), but nothing has happened. Why can’t they build us a market? They’ve built markets in other constituencies – why not here? We are also people like them. We’ve been burning in the sun for over 10 years now,” she said. She further expressed concern over the proposed relocation of vendors to a different area, saying the move would negatively impact their customer base and income. “If you move us somewhere far, we won’t get customers, we will still come back here. Even if we stay home, we won’t have anything to eat. We have children. That’s why we sell here. We need money to buy bread for our schoolgoing children. The government must please consider us, the residents of Havana,” she said. Another vendor, Tulonga Moses, expresses support for the road construction, but urges authorities to accelerate the project. She stresses the need for vendors to be allocated a proper trading space, highlighting that street vending is their only source of income. “We are happy that they are constructing the road, but they should be fast about it because they are taking us away from here. They should also give us a new place where we can sell. This is the only way we feed our children. We don’t want to be put in situations where we go and steal. They should help us,” she says. Ongos Valley Development marketing and stakeholder relations officer Abed Erastus attributes the recent delays in construction to the illegal occupation of shacks along the road reserve. He says heavy rainfall in recent months further contributed to the slowdown. The road project, which spans 6.2 kilometres, is valued at N$380 million. The post Havana vendors demand completion of delayed road project appeared first on The Namibian.

Engravings of people working in the alleyways of Venice in the 1700s can tell us quite a bit about what people ate.

Mandi News: चैलचौक बाजार में रेहड़ी वालों द्वारा अधिक पैसे वसूलने का मामला सामने आया है। स्थानीय संगठन राइट फाउंडेशन के अध्यक्ष सुरेश कुमार ने उपायुक्त को शिकायत दर्ज कराई है। शिकायत में आरोप लगाया गया है कि पंडित लव चाट भंडार नामक रेहड़ी संचालकों ने नौ गोलगप्पे के चालीस रुपये वसूले। शिकायत के अनुसार, यह रेहड़ी ज्ञान चंद की दुकान के साथ लगती है। राहुल और अमन नामक व्यक्ति इस रेहड़ी का संचालन करते हैं। शिकायतकर्ता के बच्चों ने रेहड़ी से गोलगप्पे खाए थे। रेहड़ी वालों ने अधिक पैसे वसूलने की बात स्वीकार की।

The number of street vendors operating at Rehoboth have increased since the beginning of this year. Vendors are selling various items including fruit, vegetables, clothes, shoes, beauty products, hats and hair products. Vendor and single mother of three Caroline Beukes, who sells shoes, said she needed to find a way to financially provide for her family. “I was previously working as a domestic worker but I lost my job when the family who employed me moved to Windhoek. I handed in my CV for several months, but did not find a job. I bought a few shoes on account and started the business,” Beukes says. Beukes says finding employment across the country is not easy and encouraged those who are unemployed to find ways to financially provide for themselves. “I have wasted a lot of money making my CV and paying for transport from one place to another where I handed in my CV. Not having money and not being able to provide for your family can push you to do bad things such as committing suicide, stealing or starting to sell illegal things,” Beukes says. Vendor Brandon Narib sells food, and says he enjoys his work. “I am a great cook and decided to go into this business because I am passionate about it. I have studied to become a chef, but never got a job after my studies. This platform might be small, but I am glad for it. I get to make money, feed people and work in the food industry, which is my dream,” Narib says. Client Lee-Roy Strauss says he is pleased to see more vendors in the town. He said sometimes buying from a vendor saves him time as queues inside shops might be long. “I am glad to see people do something for themselves. Seeing this is a good motivation for others who also want to start up their own businesses and be their own boss. If you do your business right, then you can be a huge success and grow your brand,” Strauss says. Strauss urges vendors to keep the town and their businesses clean. The post Street vendors increase at Rehoboth appeared first on The Namibian.