Ester Mbathera
The dissolution process of Namibia Post and Telecom Holdings (NPTH) has commenced.
The entity is expected to cease operations on 31 December.
It is not clear why the company is ceasing operation when it has reported achieved a group revenue of N$5.3 billion with a consolidated net profit of N$1 billion for the 2022/23 financial year.
This dismantling of the company follows the enactment of the Post and Telecommunications Companies Establishment Amendment Act of 2020, which came into force on 19 August.
This process was initiated following a Cabinet decision in July 2014.
The Dismantling Act (Act No. 7 of 2020), passed and gazetted in August 2020, formalised the process.
This Act required the NPTH Board to dismantle the company, and the Cabinet approved a structured plan for this process in 2021.
The dismantling is part of a strategic effort to restructure NPTH and streamline its operations.
In a letter to employees dated 29 November 2024 seen by the Windhoek Observer, the NPTH Chief Executive Officer, Kristofine Naunyango confirmed the dismantling process.
“In line with the directive issued to the chief executive officer by the government of the Republic of Namibia, the last working day for employees of NPTH is set for 31 December 2024,” she said.
Initially, the 23 affected employees had a legitimate expectation that they would be absorbed into either Telecom Namibia or NamPost.
However, the affected employees and the respective subsidiaries will negotiate the terms and conditions of the employment.
These employees requested a rescinded or deferred termination notice for their employment.
“We therefore do not accept this notice of employment termination and demand its withdrawal until pending matters have been resolved,” said the employees.
They had given the company till 3 December to respond to their demand.
In a letter to the minister of finance and public enterprise, the Telecom NamPost NAPWU branch executive committee chairperson, Hans Uiseb, has criticised the dissolution process, calling it rushed and legally flawed.
“This premature action is nothing short of an egregious violation of the legal order established by Gazetted Act No. 17 of 1992, which dictates that all matters pertaining to employee transfer, severance, and absorption into successor entities must be resolved definitively prior to the insurance of such notices,” he said.
He further noted that the current absorption plan by successor companies fails to accommodate all employees.
“Consequently the affected employees are left in a state of profound uncertainty, utterly bereft of any clarity concerning their future employment or fulfilment of their entitlement,” said Uiseb.
The two successor companies have committed to absorbing only 13 employees, leaving 10 workers without any formal guarantee of reemployment.
Uiseb argued that this approach not only contravenes the law but also exacerbates Namibia’s high unemployment rate.
“The government’s professed commitment to job creation and the reduction of unemployment must not be rendered hollow by the government’s own actions,” he added.
Uiseb demanded an immediate halt to termination notices until all legal requirements were satisfied.
The union has also threatened legal action to halt the dissolution if outstanding issues, including severance pay and pensions, are not resolved.
“If the necessary steps are not taken to resolve these issues expeditiously and in full compliance with the law, we will be compelled to pursue all available legal remedies, including seeking a court order to halt the dissolution process until compliance with gazetted Act No. 17 of 1992 is achieved and all legal costs to be covered by NPTH,” he warned.
