By Elezo Libanda
KATIMA MULILO, July 12 – Tough economic times appear to be driving the sex business in the northeastern town of Katima Mulilo, amid high unemployment in the region.
The situation is worsened by the collapse of many small businesses due to the aftershocks of the COVID-19 pandemic and its resultant lockdown which led to the collapse of the tourism industry.
According to the chief executive officer of Katima Mulilo, Raphael Liswaniso, the most worrying factor is that many young women, some of them barely out of school, have resorted to the sex trade.
“In the past, the sex business was blamed on foreign women, mostly from neighbouring countries but now local young women have in recent times taken over the illegal trade,” said Liswaniso.
He blamed the growth of the sex business in the town, on the presence of cross-border haulage truck drivers who spend days in the town waiting for clearance to cross the border into Zambia. Some drivers will be on their return trips.
A young sex worker who only wanted to be identified as Finah said they have multiple partners with whom they sleep one night or on different nights.
“We are also trying to survive,” she said, adding that sometimes they use protection but at other times they do not, depending on what the client wanted.
She said they make between N$200 and N$3 000 a night depending on the number of clients they meet and how much each is prepared to pay for their services.
Finah said while most of their clients are truck drivers, there are prominent people at the town, most of whom are married, and even pensioners who also show interest intheir services.
