Compassionate Governance Needed in the Informal Sector

Ndumba J Kamwanyah

By Ndumba J Kamwanyah

25 August 2024

Windhoek Mayor Queen Kamati’s recent site visits to assess traffic flow and enforce by-laws, particularly concerning illegal trading, have sparked a significant debate about the city’s approach to managing its informal sector.

While efforts to maintain order and cleanliness in the nation’s capital are understandable, the manner of the mayor’s engagement with informal vendors raises concerns about empathy for the socio-economic realities that drive them to the streets.

It suggests a disconnect between city officials and the lived experiences of Windhoek’s most vulnerable residents.

The informal sector plays a crucial role in the economy, providing essential goods and services to many who cannot access them through formal channels.

Informal vendors, often seen at taxi ranks, open markets and road reserves, are not merely operating to make money.

They are struggling to survive, operating on the margins of the economy because of a lack of viable employment opportunities in the formal sector.

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For many, setting up a stall is about making enough to feed their families for another day.

To dismiss their activities as illegal without acknowledging the socio-economic pressures that push them into this informal economy is to be tone-deaf.

* Ndumba J Kamwanyah studies the interplay of social welfare policy, democracy and development.
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