Things fall apart

"Our workers live completely in the dark. We don't know what's going on. No one told us the power was going out and no one has spoken to us in the month it has been out. We haven't been told anything," a worker from the Naute Agricultural Project said. The project falls under the management of the Namibia Industrial Development Agency (Nida).

According to him, the power was cut about a month ago - apparently due to non-payment - and the 300 to 350 workers have been living in darkness ever since.

This while the dates and grapes grown at the project cannot be properly watered without electricity.

"We walk for kilometres to find wood so we can make food. There is no more wood left and we have to walk further and further every time. We also live in the Naute Game Park and around us are farms, so the search and collection of wood is actually illegal, but what can we do? We have to eat," another worker said.

They also have to walk to nearby businesses to charge their cellphones.

"That's about three kilometres from us. About five kilometres further are two businesses where we can also charge our phones and we can use their freezer facilities to store our meat. We can't keep anything any more - meat, chicken, milk, nothing. So, the choice is to keep our food there and walk to and fro, or pay N$150 to go to Keetmanshoop for fresh meat."

According to him, Nida sold gas stoves - that had been in a storage room for three years - to a handful of workers before the electricity was cut. This allows them to cook, while all of them have to use candles for light.

Low morale

The fields - where grapes and dates set to be exported are grown - cannot be properly watered.

"The pumps work with electricity. Now we only use the natural pressure because we are located lower than the dam, but it is far too little. A date tree needs 80 litres of water a day; they now get about 20 litres each."

According to the worker, another problem is that the grapes will have to be harvested soon.

"It is very hot right now and we actually have to give the grapes even more water for their growth. Now we are probably going to lose between 20 and 30% of the crop because they are getting too little water."

According to him, the employees currently work only about three hours a day because the plants cannot be properly watered.

According to Keetmanshoop Rural constituency councillor and member of parliament Willem Labuschagne, there are no generators to pump water. This after it was allegedly reported in the media that Nida supplied generators for this purpose.

"That's a lie. There are no generators anywhere. The people have to gather wood, and here, there is not much wood to be found. Their geysers don't work, so there is no hot water for washing dishes and clothes, or to take a shower. They live by candlelight at night and cannot do their jobs properly during the day.

"The dates that have already been harvested and are stored in the cold rooms are going bad. The permanent workers received their salaries, but the seasonal workers did not. Morale is very low, and no one can blame the workers. No one from Nida has come to them to explain the situation, and now there are rumours that the water will be disconnected too."

"This whole thing is a total breakdown of the economy and a waste of money. Everything is going backwards. Nida is not competent to develop or manage the farm."

'Only' two weeks

Wessel Nanuseb, Nida's senior manager of corporate services and human resources, said the power has "only" been off for two weeks.

“NamPower has taken it upon itself to suspend the supply of electricity due to recurring arrears. Negotiations are ongoing to find an amicable solution to this matter. Nida is investigating various alternative options to ensure that electricity will be readily available in the long-term, including the establishment of a solar power plant."

He added that there is no evidence that the grape harvest will be adversely affected. Nida's operations have never stopped due to the occasional power outage, he said.

“Short- to medium-term plans are currently underway for further implementation. Furthermore, Nida has finalised its five-year integrated strategic business plan, covering long-term and short-term interventions to make the agency self-sustaining," Nanuseb said.

"On the Naute irrigation farm, we have started the process of establishing an alternative energy supply through a new solar power project to reduce the cost of power consumption, stabilise the energy supply and create job opportunities," he said.