Informal markets cannot become an excuse for informality in governance

The debate over informal trade in Dorado Park, and the wider question of informal markets across Namibia, requires a level of honesty that is often missing from public discourse.

On the one hand, informal trading is an essential part of the Namibian economy. Thousands of people depend on selling food, clothing, household goods and other products to survive. For many, informal trading is not a lifestyle choice but a response to unemployment, poverty and the absence of sufficient formal economic opportunities.

On the other hand, the existence of poverty cannot mean the suspension of public health, environmental standards, urban planning or basic order.

Namibia must be able to hold both truths at the same time.

The concern about the deteriorating appearance of some informal trading areas across the country is therefore not necessarily an attack on informal traders. It is a legitimate question about whether local authorities and national government have failed both traders and the public by allowing informal trading spaces to develop without sufficient planning, infrastructure, regulation and enforcement.