Rundu govt officials demand N$16m in S&T

Sixteen employees in the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Land Reform’s lands division are demanding an estimated N$16 million in unpaid subsistence and travel (S&T) allowances – an average of N$1 million per employee.

The staff members claim they have spent years working outside their designated duty station without receiving the compensation they are entitled to.

They argue that although their employment contracts designate Nkurenkuru as their official duty station, they have been stationed at the ministry’s offices in Rundu since the start and have never received the allowances they believe they are legally entitled to.

According to one of the affected employees, the amount owed varies depending on an individual’s date of employment, with the combined claim for all 16 workers estimated at around N$16 million.

The employees maintain that the ministry never formally amended their contracts or issued written notification changing their duty station from Nkurenkuru to Rundu.

As a result, they argue that they remain contractually based in Nkurenkuru and therefore qualify for daily S&T allowances for the entire period they have worked in Rundu.

“They were supposed to put it in black and white if we were not going to be paid for working outside our duty station, but they failed to do so,” an affected employee said on condition of anonymity.

Relocation concerns

The workers say they first raised the matter with the ministry in 2024 but have yet to receive a formal response.

Frustrated by the delay, they sought legal advice and instructed a lawyer to write to the ministry’s executive director on their behalf.

They insist that despite Nkurenkuru being listed in their contracts, they have never worked there.

“Strictly Rundu,” one employee said when asked whether they had ever been based in Nkurenkuru.

Another employee said the prolonged uncertainty has had both financial and personal consequences, particularly as workers now face a possible relocation to Nkurenkuru.

“If I had been working in Nkurenkuru all along, I would have made plans to settle there, maybe even bought a house,” the employee said.

“People with children now have to relocate. Imagine moving in the middle of the school year and having to transfer your children.”

According to the employees, the current S&T rate, implemented in April, stands at N$1 318 per day, up from N$709 previously.

The workers further accuse the ministry of disregarding provisions contained in existing legislation.

“These provisions are in the law, so for the ministry to try and bend the rules now is illegal,” another employee said.

The employees say they are exhausted by what they describe as being sent “from pillar to post” since first raising the matter more than two years ago and are now demanding a definitive response from the ministry.

Ministry ‘looking’ at the matter

In response, the ministry’s acting executive director, Alfred Sikopo, confirmed to Namibian Sun yesterday that he was aware of the employees’ concerns but said the matter remains under review.

“I understand they’ve written a letter to the ministry. We are going to look at the letter,” Sikopo said.

He said the complaint predates his appointment as acting executive director on 1 April.

“Two weeks ago I passed the office. They told me they wrote a letter to the ministry,” he said, stopping short of describing the engagement as a formal meeting on the matter.

Asked whether the affected employees were contractually required to be based in Nkurenkuru, Sikopo declined to comment, saying the ministry first needed to consult internally.

"That is why we have not responded yet, because we are carefully looking at their letter,” he said.

Meeting minutes

However, minutes of a meeting held on 3 June between Sikopo and the affected employees, signed by deputy director Justine Milinga and seen by this publication, indicate that the acting executive director acknowledged that staff members may be entitled to daily subsistence and relocation allowances under the Public Service Act and other applicable labour legislation.

According to the minutes, Sikopo encouraged employees to make informed decisions on whether to submit claims for the benefits.

The minutes further reveal that preparations are underway to relocate the affected employees to Nkurenkuru, with all staff expected to report for duty there by 1 August.

Sikopo reportedly advised employees to notify their landlords of the impending move to allow sufficient time for arrangements.

The minutes also state that he instructed a deputy director to engage the education ministry to assist employees whose children’s schooling may be disrupted.

In addition, he reportedly assured staff members that government vehicles would be made available to facilitate their move.