By Nuusita Ashipala
ONGWEDIVA – More than 58 building workers on site at Ongwediva Junior Secondary School have downed tools pending the full payment of their January wages
The workers are contracted by Uukumwe Construction CC. The company is co-owned by Jona Eiki, Hans Nghixulifwa and Joram Nghixulifwa.
Jona Eiki and Joram Nghixulifwa are among 14 people implicated in tax fraud at Oshakati, where they are accused of falsifying good standing certificates to obtain multi-million dollar tenders from government.
Another name mentioned by the aggrieved labourers is that of the former senior Inland Revenue officer at Oshakati, Waldeheim Mutileni, who is another co-accused in the tax fraud matter.
The unhappy workers said they attempted on Saturday to lock the door to the storeroom to get the attention of their employers however that did not help anything. They said Mutileni came and broke the lock questioning whether that was their strategy to get the media to hear about what was happening at the construction site.
Media reports last year indicated that Uukumwe Construction also benefited from the allegedly forged good standing certificates to get a government tender to construct the Ongwediva Junior Secondary School.
The disgruntled building workers that include bricklayers, general assistants and 19 casual workers allege they have not received their wages for January, while others received only a quarter of their salaries.
“We stopped working this week, what is there to do if you are not paid? Some of us got N$700 of the N$4 000 we were supposed to get. So where do they think we will eat from?” questioned one of the labourers.
The workers, who have resorted to eating porridge without relish or complementing the porridge with wild vegetables, have appealed to the police to help them divide the building materials in the storeroom among themselves as compensation for their outstanding wages.
They said their employers have been telling them to be patient but their patience has now run out.
They said at one point they were informed the money is available and it was up to the bank to clear the funds.
“What do they think of us? They expect us to labour in the scorching sun on empty stomachs while they eat proper meals,” lamented one of the workers.
They also accuse their bosses of replying to their inquiries on their outstanding monies with vulgar language.
They further accuse their employers of subjecting them to working extra hours without their being able to claim overtime.
“Here we work from seven to seven and there is no overtime, and if you ask you are told ‘just go work’,” said a labourer.
Information from close sources revealed the coffers of the company are almost depleted.
Last year another outfit by the name Sahara was called in to financially rescue Uukumwe.
While the school is expected to be completed by the end of the month, so much still has to be done – from doing final touches here and there to laying the interlocks.
But the workers also argue that even if they had not downed tools they do not know what it is they will be doing on site because there are no materials.
Attempts to get in touch with the contractors proved futile, as their cellphones were either not answered or completely switched off.
The tender to construct the school for N$38 million was among the ten tenders awarded in June 2012 through the Targeted Intervention Programme for Employment and Economic Growth (Tipeeg).