Namibia’s capital city authorities caution retailers and customers ahead of Black Friday

WINDHOEK, Nov. 22 — Namibia’s capital city Windhoek municipal authorities has taken note of the upcoming Black Friday sales on Nov. 23 and has cautioned shop owners and customers to take all preventative measures to avoid unbecoming situations.
Black Friday is a the day which marks the commencement of the festive season shopping where most major retailers open as early as overnight hours, and offer promotional sales.
External Communication Officer, Lydia Amutenya in a statement on Thursday said crowd related injuries can occur during special sales and promotional events such as Black Friday.
“Retailers are advised to adopt effective safety and health management systems to identify and eliminate work-related hazards, including those caused by large crowds at sales events,” she said.
According to Amutenya, proactive measures must be employed to avoid injuries during Black Friday sales or other events where large crowds may gather.
Amutenya urged all the businesses to prepare an emergency plan that addresses potential dangers facing workers, including overcrowding, crowd crushing, violent acts and fire.
“Share emergency plan with Emergency and Disaster Risk Management, Police and your security service provider,” she added.
Meanwhile the city has put in place crowd control measures and will offer technical assistance in crowd management in the case of emergencies.

Xinhua