Hertta-Maria Amutenja
Nelson Daniel Haihambo, a pastor at House of Grace Ministry in Windhoek, is allegedly refusing to pay employees whom he recruited to harvest grass for his company, Grace City Investment, around Windhoek.
Sarafina Andupula, one of the employees, stated she, along with approximately 50 others, was recruited at Havana informal settlement to harvest grass in July this year. However, after the work was complete, Haihambo reportedly ceased communication, not responding to text messages or answering his phone.
“He came to our neighbourhood and recruited us to cut grass at Ramatex, promising to pay us N$2000 each at the end of August,” said Andupula. However, upon completion of the job, they only received pay slips—without actual payments—showing different amounts compared to the initial agreement. “We received our pay slips without being paid, and there were deductions he did not inform us about. To date, he has not paid us anything,” said Andupula.
The employment contract, viewed by Windhoek Observer, shows Andupula signed her contract on 4th July 2023. It stipulates she was employed for an indefinite period and was on a 6-month probation.
It also indicates that she was required to harvest 133 bales of grass, but only 76 bales were harvested. The pay slip showed that Andupula worked for 19 days in August with a basic salary of N$2000; however, a deduction of N$2280 resulted in a net salary of zero, with compensation of N$650.
Haihambo’s social media activities indicate that he harvests grass in Windhoek at Ramatex and sells it for N$69 per bale to other businesses around the country. When approached for comments, Haihambo said he was busy and requested a text message. However, he did not respond to the messages or answer numerous follow-up calls.
