Amid rising unemployment and tightening police crackdowns, roadside fuel sellers in Oshikango continue to risk arrest as they hustle for survival.

Despite the daily struggle and confiscation of their fuel, many say they remain hopeful that newly elected local authority councillors will bring real change to their lives.

Thirty-five-year-old Simon Nghifenwa is one of them. He told the NBC News team that "We are educated, yet unemployed, and our qualifications are lying unused in our suitcases. Selling petrol is our only source of income, the only way we can buy clothes and put food on the table. When the police confiscate our petrol, they leave us with nothing. They tell us not to sell petrol, but they don't tell us how else to survive. We would rather not steal or commit crimes; we just want an honest way to live."

Speaking on behalf of the others, Nghifenwa added that they will not give up their democratic right to vote because they still have hope in the leaders they will elect at the grassroots level. 

"What we want from the next elected councillors is for them to look after us and bring real change. We want them to show us that they truly care about our well-being."