Hidipo Hamata
Many unemployed youths and adults find themselves unable to provide basic needs or put bread and butter on the table because they are unemployed. Employment is hard to find, and even when you are fortunate enough to secure a job, the salary is often too small to sustain yourself, let alone your extended family. Life is hard, but is our government truly working clockwise to find amicable solutions for her people — solutions that soften the economic pressure while also building the country brick by brick, together with its citizens?
Today, thousands of Namibians have found creative ways to survive. They travel across our borders to Angola, Zambia, Botswana, and South Africa to buy goods at cheaper prices and bring them back to Namibia to sell. This informal cross-border trade has become the breadbasket of many households. It is an act of endurance and entrepreneurship, carried out by mothers, fathers, and especially our unemployed youth who are desperately trying to stay afloat in a stormy economy.
However, the painful reality is that too often these very goods — purchased with the last savings or borrowed money — are confiscated at our borders because traders did not pay customs duties or failed to declare properly. While the government is right to protect its revenue, the blunt approach of confiscation destroys livelihoods, frustrates citizens, and drives resentment against institutions that are supposed to be partners in development.
What am I thinking? The message that I am trying to drive home is that there are clear, practical policy options that can turn this situation around for both the state and the citizens. Instead of confiscating, the government could introduce a simplified low-value import levy, allowing small traders bringing in goods below a set threshold to pay a flat, affordable charge. This would be quicker, easier, and fairer—ensuring the state collects its dues while traders keep their goods.
Another option would be to introduce cross-border trader permits — annual or semi-annual documents that allow small-scale traders to bring in limited goods under predictable conditions. This not only ensures compliance but also gives our traders dignity and recognition as part of the real economy.
We could further encourage cooperative importation, where groups of small traders bring in goods together under one declaration. This reduces costs for traders, simplifies customs processes, and strengthens their competitiveness against larger foreign-owned retailers.
Deferred payment systems could also help. Many traders lose their goods simply because they cannot pay duties on the spot. Why not let them take their goods and pay in instalments within 30 or 60 days? That way, the government still receives its revenue, and traders avoid the heartbreak of watching their stock go to waste.
Education is another missing piece. Too many traders simply don’t know what the law requires. If NamRA, working with the Ministry of International Relations and Trade, took the time to run workshops in Oshikango, Katima Mulilo, Ariamsvlei, and other busy border towns, in languages that our people understand, compliance would rise dramatically.
And finally, why not a one-off amnesty and registration drive? The government could open a window for traders to come forward, register, and regularise their activities with minimal penalties. The benefit would be twofold: the government collects immediate revenue, and thousands of traders step into the light of the formal economy.
The message is simple: government does not have to lose revenue, and citizens do not have to lose their goods. If we treat these informal traders as partners instead of problems, we can unlock a win-win scenario. The state gains predictable income, traders gain protection and dignity, and the nation gains inclusive economic growth that benefits ordinary households.
Life is indeed hard. But life does not have to be hopeless. If we adopt policies that are practical, humane, and economically sound, we can ease the pressure on our citizens while keeping Namibia’s fiscal house in order. The time has come for us to stop criminalising survival and start building the economy with one same brick, together with our people.
*These views expressed herein are my own words and are not affiliated with any political party or organisation.
