Some small to medium enterprises (SMEs) of Omuthiya have expressed disappointment after the change of venue of the Heroes’ Day commemoration from Omuthiya to Windhoek, as it has negatively affected their businesses.
RESTAURANTS and GUESTHOUSES
Simon Nghipunya who owns a guesthouse in Omuthiya says he was left in debt and bankrupt after the relocation of the event.
“I borrowed N.dollars 20 000 to furnish my apartments hoping to get clients for Heroes’ Day, unfortunately the venue was then changed,” he said.
Another person who faces the same problem is Mekondjo Tuwilika, who owns a guesthouse and he already received N.dollars 26 000 from bookings.
“Unfortunately, I used some of the funds to revamp the place and now have to find ways to pay back the money,” he said.
Suama Ruben who owns Omukwa Guesthouse in Omuthiya was completely disappointed as she had clients that deposited N.dollars 13 000 and she had to refund them.
“We were busy preparing and maintaining the places because our places were fully booked by those coming for the Heroes’ commemoration,” Ruben said.
She said they were busy trying to “paint a good picture” and the cancellation came in the last minute.
“We were trying to learn how to accommodate international guests of honour, we wanted to experience the feeling,” she sighed.
“We do not know if they will let us the Oshikoto residents continue to celebrate our day in Omuthiya or we should also go to Windhoek,” shrugged Ruben.
Esther Cornelius owns a restaurant and she was awarded a catering tender. She said that she is “so disappointed” for the changing of venues because she was expecting the best from the event.
“Omuthiya residents were so very excited to be the luckiest but now things turned out bad,” she said, adding that after the cancellation of the event, they were never informed or updated about anything.
VENDORS and HAWKERS
Aina Nambahu, one of the local vendors from the supermarket said she bought enough stock to sell during the event.
“We were so happy for our government in recognising our town but now they are just letting us down at the last minute,” said Nambahu.
She said they were hoping to make a lucrative profit from the day as they were expecting an influx of people from other regions.
SPORTS
The Governor’s Cup that always takes place at the Omuthiya Stadium was supposed to take place this Saturday, 19 August 2023, but was then postponed to October due to the preparation of the Heroes’ Day commemoration.
Source: The Namibia Press Agency