Local shops up in arms

The chairperson of the Namibia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NCCI) northern branch, Tomas Iindji, says the government must urgently act against foreigners, especially Chinese nationals, who do business unethically in the country.Iindji believes that unless infant industries are protected against foreign competition, the economy will not grow and national development goals will be stalled. Iindji was responding to a question as to what the NCCI was doing to protect the business interests of local entrepreneurs who are competing with thousands of foreign-owned businesses, particularly Chinese shops. This enquiry followed observations that Chinese-owned shops, which initially sold simple products such as toys, are now selling hardware and building materials - a situation that has local businesspeople who sell similar products fuming.Local business owners feel that the government, through organisations such as the competition commission, is not protecting their interests. They say unfair competition is pushing them out of business in a tough economic climate.Iindji acknowledged that the situation is getting out of hand in the retail sector, saying that the NCCI regularly receives complaints about unfair competition from its members. “First and foremost, this is not new to us. The issue at hand is not that the Chinese are cheaper than the local guys but it is a situation of the Chinese businesses being run in an unfair manner whereby they are ripping the people off by selling substandard products,” Iindji said. “Our local businesspeople, especially our members, do things by the book and within the perimeters of the law, but it is not the same from the side of the Chinese, they are very unethical and we should not shy away from it.”He said the NCCI had taken up the matter with the ministry of industrialisation, trade and SME development, the Namibian Competition Commission as well as the Namibia Trade Forum.“We have engaged the necessary offices of authority to take up the matter and we are just waiting upon their action but we continue to monitor the situation and deal with it procedurally,” Iindji said. KENYA KAMBOWE

Local shops up in arms

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Namibian Sun 2025-04-21

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Local shops up in arms

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Namibian Sun 2025-04-21

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