Business not renewing their licenses

The City of Windhoek has announced through its spokesperson, Joshua Amukugo, that among the 16,840 businesses that were registered in 2013, only 5,836 have renewed their business licenses, which is only 35%.
Therefore the City is reminding the business community and the public at large that any person operating a business within Windhoek is required by law to register their business.
The City is also busy with extensive information and educational campaigns which are aimed at sensitising the public about the importance of registering their businesses.
Amukugo also said that the consequences of operating a business without a valid Certificate of Fitness/Registration constitutes an offence that upon conviction carries a penalty of a fine not exceeding N$2 000 or imprisonment for a period not exceeding six months, or both. Even though information platforms have been created with the business community, the City of Windhoek is disappointed with the snail pace of the renewal and registration of businesses.

Therefore the educational campaign should be viewed as a final reminder to ensure that all business owners in Windhoek are aware that for their businesses to operate legally, they are expected to register their business activity with the City and to renew their registration annually.
The City will give all business owners a three-month grace period, but if they do not comply with the law and register, they will have to face the consequences.