Walvis Bay Municipality Moves to Regulate Informal Trading and Market Stalls
The Walvis Bay Municipality is tightening regulations governing informal trading and market stalls as it seeks to bring greater order to trading areas while allowing residents to continue operating their businesses.
Councillor Ndapewa Johannes said the measures are not intended to stop people from making a living through informal trading, but rather to ensure that businesses operate within an organised and regulated framework.
Johannes explained that the municipality has started implementing measures to regulate vendors and trading stalls, with authorities engaging affected traders as the process gets underway.
She stressed that the intention is not simply to remove traders from their current locations without providing alternatives.
According to Johannes, traders affected by relocations are expected to be directed towards designated temporary market areas where they can continue conducting their businesses while longer-term arrangements are considered.
“We are not stopping people from doing business. We just need to do it the right way,” Johannes said.
The councillor also encouraged residents who wish to operate market stalls to approach the municipality and familiarise themselves with the application process and requirements for obtaining a trading space.
Traders using municipal market facilities are required to comply with the applicable regulations and pay the prescribed monthly fees for their trading spaces.
Johannes said the regulatory measures form part of efforts to improve the organisation and management of trading areas while addressing overcrowding and competition for limited spaces.
The municipality is also looking at the longer-term development and planning of market facilities, with the intention of creating properly designated areas for different types of businesses.
Johannes said the municipality wants the process to be implemented in a manner that balances regulation with the need to protect livelihoods and provide opportunities for local traders.
She called on traders and members of the community to cooperate with municipal authorities as the new measures are implemented.
Residents interested in obtaining a market stall or trading space have been encouraged to contact the municipality for information on the application process, available spaces, applicable fees and other requirements.
The municipality said the broader objective is to create a more orderly trading environment while ensuring that informal businesses can continue contributing to the local economy.
