Martin Endjala
Namibia Industrial Development Agency (Nida) has been slammed for failing to address a continuing power outage at the homes of the Naute Dam’s employees.
Keetmanshoop Rural Constituency Councillor Willem Labuschagne said during an interview with Windhoek Observer that although the Naute Dam factory has electricity, the workers have been without electricity for almost a month now.
He said that the situation has not been resolved. He described the situation of the workers as unbearable.
He also declared the state-owned entity as unfit to oversee the functions of Naute Dam amidst the continuous power outages at the living quarters of employees.
“The worker’s electricity has been cut off and they are unable to cook food and they are hungry. This happens frequently, I do not know what is wrong with Nida, but this entity is not fit to do the job it is required to do,” he said.
Another issue he pointed out is the delayed payment of salaries of workers by Nida, stating that it has become a norm for workers to go without being paid monthly, hence his call on the management of Nida to urgently address the issues.
In response to the concerns raised, Nida Senior Manager for Corporate Services Wessel !Nanuseb, said the salary payment delay is a regrettable situation. While admitting that the agency is facing difficulties and has fallen in arrears with some payments.
However, he stated that all efforts are underway to restore the supply of electricity to residential dwellings early this week.
!Nanuseb called for calmness from the workers, reiterating that the agency is hard at work to ensure that the issues raised are receiving their immediate attention.
In October last year, Nida was criticised for failing to maintain electricity of the factory at Naute Dam after failing behind with payment with electricity suppliers.
