Rising inflation in the second half of this year has taken a toll on the lives of Angolans, especially those who are using the informal market as a way to secure their livelihoods to “recover”, but sellers are complaining about business.
The devaluation of the kwanza also affected the rise in prices in warehouses – the main source of supply for small traders who resell products in markets and on the streets and use the profits to satisfy their basic needs.
With the festive season just around the corner, price increases are expected to increase even as authorities ensure that measures are being taken to avoid speculation.
The population’s weak purchasing power was another factor causing the decline in business, explained Eva Agostinho, a zungueira (street vendor) with 20 years of experience and mother of seven children.
“Business is hard, it’s difficult, it doesn’t show up, it’s very expensive,” he told Lusa, adding that he still has to deal with the problem of inspectors receiving products or asking for money.
Her business, which sells pieces of fishing nets used for swimming, is based in Benguela province, but the price has “increased significantly since President [da República] came to power,” complained Eva Agostinho.
Joana Bezerra, a 24-year zun maker, also sells clothes made from African fabric, but says the business was worth it in the past because prices have risen and she no longer makes much of a profit.
“There are times when we buy for 1,000 kwanzas (1.1 euros) and sell for 1,500 (1.6 euros) to earn 500 kwanzas (0.5 euros), and with this we support our lives,” he said.
Joana Bezerra, who has her own home, is helped by her husband, who works for Coca-Cola, unlike Celestina Codina, 51, a widow and mother of five who came to Luanda, the capital of Angola, in 2014 from the province of Houye. and a year later she became a Zungeira.
Celestina Codina sells brooms, but regrets that the price of the product has increased and “she earns almost nothing.”
“With the little money we earn, we can buy a kilo of corn flour and raise our children,” he stressed, adding that he is already getting help from his eldest daughter, who is also a fan of plastic bags.
According to Celestina Codina, she manages to sell two to three brooms every day and earns 350 kwanzas (0.3 euros) per broom.
Among the hundreds of street vendors in the area of the hotel, in the municipality of Viana, was also António Givunge, 58, who has been selling textbooks in Portuguese, English and French on the streets for almost 38 years.
Antonio Givunge, a native of Malanje province, said that “ [custo do] business has picked up,” but he is “doing everything right,” selling four to five books a day for a profit of 3,000 kwanzas (€3.3).
“This money is what sustains us, the main thing is to have the strength to work,” said Zungeiro, who supports one of his three daughters – two have already died – and three more grandchildren.
Despite the weak business, António Givunge said he will continue to sell books between the city center and the municipality of Viana, “even for pennies and in an unstable life.”
A study conducted by the National Institute of Statistics (INE) of Angola in partnership with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the International Labor Organization (ILO), published in June this year, states that it is estimated that more than 8.5 million people in Angola have informal employment.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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