Namibia traders excluded from FMD relief
Informal meat vendors in Windhoek say government aid for Foot-and-Mouth Disease bypasses them, leaving them without cashflow.
Informal meat traders and kapana vendors in Windhoek’s 7de Laan settlement are demanding answers from authorities regarding financial relief for the Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) outbreak. The Bank of Namibia’s BID-42 intervention offers loan repayment moratoriums to commercial and communal farmers, but grassroots traders say they have been excluded. This leaves them without support amid severe supply disruptions and soaring meat prices, impacting their ability to operate.
Klaas Losper, a 62-year-old meat distributor supplying informal markets, told NBC News that the outbreak cut off his income and drove wholesale meat costs up. "Only farm owners are receiving assistance from government. My question is when will small traders from the community and informal markets receive any assistance from government?" Losper asked, highlighting the vital role informal distributors play in providing affordable protein. Emgard Ndukireepo, a kapana and sausages seller, said supply bottlenecks and high costs have halted her daily trade, forcing her household of 11 to survive on a N$1 600 disability grant.
Ndukireepo appealed to the government for direct, targeted relief mechanisms for small-scale vendors in informal settlements. She warned that without urgent intervention, grassroots traders will remain the silent casualties of the FMD outbreak. The current relief measures are designed to free up cash flow for farmers to sustain operations during livestock movement restrictions.
Why it mattersInformal meat traders in Windhoek are struggling to source stock and afford resale prices due to FMD outbreak disruptions, impacting their ability to earn and support their households.