By Foibe N Paavo
SWAKOPMUND, Erongo, 13 April -The rise in food prices, especially cooking oil, is a huge concern to Namibian citizens, especially local food sellers who survive on the income they make on a daily basis. One litre of cooking oil cannot fill a bucket anymore, and one needs at least five liters which costs N$220.
As I stumbled across the streets of Mondesa, Swakopmund, I had an opportunity to have a one on one with a few of the local hawkers at Usave and get their insight on the issue at hand.
Sara, in her early thirties with one child, and Magdalena, 50 years old with for children to feed, described their daily challenges as hawkers.
“It’s very difficult to get customers nowadays. Corona has changed everything and due to that, a lot of people who lost their jobs were our daily customers and it has become a challenge. The situation is really bad at the moment but since we’re no longer facing lockdowns, we’ll see how things go,” said Magdalena.
People who cook fat-cakes and fish are deeply affected by the rise in cooking oil. Especially for fish and it’s very difficult to get profit out of it all.
Since the rise in food prices, hawkers have had to increase their prices too to catch up with the retailers in order to gain something. They however receive complaints on a daily basis that their prices are too high and sometimes customers would refuse to buy at the original price. The hawker is then forced to lower the price again for them to sell out.
“I do not have a ridge and I cannot sell people rotten food. So I’m forced to lower my prices if need be, to sell out. I do not have a choice, but I have to struggle to afford my child’s needs,” said Sara.
Sometimes they go back home with their goods and then lower the prices the next day because the food is no longer fresh. And if one lowers the prices, they risk making a huge loss. When they go back to the store to buy cooking oil, the price is extremely high, exceeding the profits they made off their goods. And in the end, they see no benefit in that.
Lastly Sara touched on her challenge as a hustler and a mother.
“They say school no longer requires fees, but as an example, a child is being asked to buy books costing N$700 each. How, am I supposed to afford that from the kind of profit that I make on a daily basis?,” she complained. – Namibia Daily News
