Oshikango businesses will never die – Nghipangelwa

Helao Nafidi mayor Elias Nghipangelwa has rejected claims that a decline in cross-border trade between Angola and Namibia could spell the end of business activity at the town.

He said to the contrary, the local businesses have picked up lately, and the economy at the border town is slowly getting back to its former glory days.

Although admitting that some businesses have been severely affected by the discontinuation of the use of the US dollar in Angola, Nghipangelwa said business is slowly picking up at the town.

He refuted claims about Oshikango’s decline during a media briefing held at Helao Nafidi last week.

“The media reports are not true. It’s discouraging for investors who wish to trade at our town. We are here trying to do everything possible to uplift the economy of our town, yet the media reports are saying otherwise”.

“Local investors are setting up shops, and things are getting back to normal. Oshikango will never die,” stressed Nghipangelwa.

He added that Oshikango is not the only town experiencing a decline in business activities, as the economic downturn has affected the whole country. When asked what the council was doing to revive the economy, the mayor said “We approached and engaged with several companies, more especially manufacturing companies, to come and invest at our town, but the majority of them did not respond positively to our request due to various reasons”.

The council has increased the number of residents by constructing more houses and making residential erven available to private individuals in further efforts to revive the town’s economy.

Last year, the council constructed about 60 houses, while the Shack Dwellers Federation of Namibia built 10 houses, and 40 houses were built under the Build Together housing scheme.

Oshikango, which was once a lucrative business destination, has now turned into a struggling ground for businesses, with many hardly managing to break even.

The border town was once a thriving town, which attracted foreigners like Chinese, Indian, South African, Portuguese, Pakistani and Iranian traders, amongst others, who set up shops with ventures that primarily targeted the Angolan market.

The decline of business activities at the town has also cast a dim light on the future of hundreds of people employed there, who stand to lose their jobs.

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