Ministers defend Chinese contractors

Cabinet ministers yesterday jumped to the defence of Chinese contractors in Namibia after opposition MPs claimed they were not complying with labour laws.

The ministers could barely contain themselves when United People's Movement (UPM) MP Jan van Wyk accused the government of turning a blind eye to labour issues involving Chinese and other foreign contractors.

Labour minister Erkki Nghimtina emphasised from the beginning that it was not his intention to defend or vilify Chinese companies or any Chinese national, but that there was a need to put “true facts” before parliament.

According to him, the government has a legal regime in place that ensures the enforcement of labour standards through efforts such as labour and special inspections, particularly in the construction industry.

“The investigations of the construction industry have revealed, among other things, that some of the construction companies including companies of Chinese, German, Namibian or South African origin, as well as joint ventures, do not comply with the labour and employment laws, while many in fact do comply,” said Nghimtina.

Although he pointed out that the government's compliance efforts were not premised on nationality, ethnicity or skin colour, Nghimtina acknowledged that there was a need for the government to close loopholes that make it easy for foreign construction companies to appoint foreigners at the expense of Namibian workers.

“Often technical arguments are advanced to try and justify the engagement of these foreigners. I admit that is a challenge not only for our ministry, but for the Immigration Selection Board,” he said.

Nghimtina also informed the National Assembly that the Labour Act of 2007 was being reviewed. He urged members to forward their “concrete and specific” proposals to his office.

Deputy home affairs minister Erastus Uutoni explained that an independent body called the Immigration Selection Board was responsible for approving work permits for expatriates.

“I would like to inform this House that members of the board are appointed by the minister of home affairs and immigration and are senior government officials who have expert knowledge in the functions of the institutions they represent. Their role is to advise the board on the merit of the decisions taken,” said Uutoni.

He added that there was a perception that the board granted permits to semi-skilled foreigners, but explained that this could happen because of a misrepresentation of facts, since individual applicants did not appear before the board for interrogation.

The board officials are drawn from the Office of the President as well as from the trade, safety, labour, higher education and justice ministries.

Uutoni's clarification came in response to Van Wyk's assertion that the authorities were favouring Chinese companies when it came to granting work permits.

“It baffles my mind how work permits are dished out to Chinese companies to allow them to bring low- and semi-skilled workers such as bricklayers, forklift drivers and supervisors into the country,” Van Wyk said.



Tenders

On the awarding of tenders, works minister Alfeus !Naruseb said preference was given to Namibian companies.

However, he noted that a significant number of tenders awarded to Namibians were wholly subcontracted to foreign-owned companies without the knowledge of his ministry.

“These arrangements are entered into illegally between Namibians who have been awarded contracts by the Tender Board and the foreign companies. This is usually done with a one-off contract and the work is done by the foreign-owned entity.

“These arrangements are common and they regrettably fail to strengthen construction capacity as the money earned by Namibians is not reinvested in the construction industry and it only benefits individuals,” said !Naruseb.