…Oshakati traders say N$3 toilet fee is driving up open defecation
You smell it before you see it.
At Oshakati open market, the smell drifts across charcoal fires where vendors grill kapana and customers queue for lunch.
Across the road, behind a sand embankment, people relieve themselves in the open.
The traders say it’s simple. It costs N$3 to use the toilets which many people don’t have.
“Customers come here to enjoy kapana and traditional brews, but sometimes the first thing they notice is the smell,” says Elizabeth Joseph, who has been selling food and the traditional brew, shafuluka, at the market for years.
For the traders who spend up to 12 hours a day selling food, the smell has become part of the environment. But they say the real problem is not the odour.
When The Namibian visited the market on Friday, men and women were seen walking in small groups towards the embankment before disappearing behind it. Some men urinated openly nearby.
For many traders, the scene is no longer unusual.
Petrus Hanyedaula says the problem has existed almost as long as the market itself.
“This has been happening since the market opened in 2016,” he says.
He insists most people are not choosing the bush because they prefer it.
“They simply cannot afford to pay every time,” he says.
For Hanyedaula, some days he needs to use the toilet for up to five times, which costs him N$15.
Over a six-day trading week, that’s N$90.
In a month, the amount to pay for the use of the toilet can exceed N$350, money Hanyedaula says many traders would rather spend on food, transport, or stock.
“It doesn’t sound like much, but when you are trying to make a living, every dollar matters,” he says.
He says in the afternoon, when temperatures rise or after heavy rain, the smell intensifies, spreading across stalls.
Hanyedaula says the traders are not asking for luxury.
He alleges that they would gladly pay if the fee were lower.
He suggests reducing the cost to N$1 per visit or introducing daily passes for vendors who spend the entire day at the market.
For female traders, however, the issue goes beyond unpleasant smells.
Kapana vendor Milka Shivute says relieving herself in the open is never an option.
“I use the toilets because of my safety. I would be embarrassed to go into the bush where everyone can see me,” she adds.
Shivute is suggesting that Oshakati Town Council erect a large sign near the embankment warning people not to relieve themselves there.
“A big board saying, ‘Don’t relieve yourself here,’ would remind people that it is not acceptable,” she says.
This she says could help improve hygiene around the food market.
Shivute says, some of the public toilets become dirty over weekends and occasionally run out of water, making them difficult to use.
She says such experiences leave many people with little choice but to use the open space behind the embankment.
Oshakati Town Council spokesperson Martin Kapuka told The Namibian on Saturday that the council is aware of incidents of open defecation in areas surrounding the market.
“We cannot confirm that these incidents are directly linked to the toilet user fee. Our observations indicate that this is largely a behavioural issue rather than one solely related to affordability. Regardless of the reason, open defecation poses a serious public health risk and is unacceptable,” he says.
He says the town council encourages all traders, members of the public to make use of the designated public toilet facilities.
“The N$3 user fee contributes towards the cleaning, maintenance and operation of these facilities, including supporting employment for the personnel responsible for keeping them clean and functional.”
He added that to date, the Oshakati Town Council has not received any formal complaints regarding the affordability of the public toilet facilities at the open market.
Kapuka further says that the town council has deployed security personnel to monitor the areas where open defecation takes place.
Last month prime minister Elijah Ngurare announced in parliament that the government is treating the country’s sanitation and housing challenges as a matter of urgency following the allocation of N$34 million for this purpose.
He says a committee is currently finalising a strategic implementation plan to guide the rollout of sanitation programmes nationwide.
The Namibia Statistics Agency’s 2023 Population and Housing Census report says about 40% of households in Namibia still lack access to basic toilet facilities, with many residents continuing to practise open defecation.
