WINDHOEK – Job seekers standing on the side of the road and at traffic lights claim the City of Windhoek is not doing enough to support them with shelter where they can be picked up for casual labour.
The men also allege foul play on the side of the Men on the Side of the Road (MSR) project, claiming they have gone against their disclaimer by asking for remuneration from some of its members.
According to the men who wait for work at the intersection of Hendrik Witbooi Drive and David Hosea Meroro Road they do not make use of the MSR shelter because chances of getting work when they sit and wait at the MSR shelter are slim to none at all.
Simon Ipinge (23) a MSR member, says the shelter was built without consultation with the job seekers and that “the structure looks as if it is still under construction – part of the roof is missing.”
“It is way too far from the road, motorists will not leave the road and drive over there,” exclaimed Ipinge.
Another man who wished to remain anonymous said: “It is easier to get work when we stand as close to the road as possible, even if it means standing in the hot sun from morning till evening.”
Some of the job seekers and alleged MSR members claimed that the MSR was ripping them off – “when we get money for doing a task the MSR deducts from our money and claims it is to pay for the food we are given. The food we eat come from the Katutura main hospital because that is where we were working at the time.”
When approached for comment MSR general manager Janet Wicks dismissed all allegations saying MSR does not take any money from the job seekers. “The men who stand on the side of the road (job seekers) deal directly with their own clients, they do their own negotiations. In most cases we at MSR have no knowledge of what work they receive.”
She said even though MSR has issued membership cards and keeps some information on their members the MSR does not control where people chose to stand. “They are on government property after all,” she said.
She did however concede that some cases are exceptional as members of the public have gone to MSR and asked for assistance with regard to work that needed doing.
“In such instances we contact any member of the MSR on file and connect him or her with the client if they are interested in the work and the wage being offered. Again we do not touch the money and 99.99 percent of the time the members find their own work. We help them with regard to copies of documents if they need them and this is done free of charge,” Wicks told New Era.
Several efforts to reach the City of Windhoek on the maintenance and upkeep of the MSR structures were in vain.