The filth and the stench in the streets that greeted Windhoekers on Wednesday afternoon is a microcosm of the dysfunctional state of the capital city. 

The absence of leadership at the top shows in the filth on the street and the rot permeating throughout the institution. 

The Windhoek City Council has been unable to appoint a substantive CEO for over two years, or to elect a full management committee for over two months, or deliver on the many promises made on the campaign trail.  

It is not just the current council which hs failed to deliver decent housing, professional services and affordable transportation. For over 30 years, the city has not been able to meet its mandate. At least they kept some semblance of a clean city.  

But the current city’s dysfunction blew up on the streets this week. 

On Monday, City of Windhoek cleaners, formerly known as ward contractors, embarked on a demonstration to demand better working conditions.

The workers want permanent employment as many of them have been working on a contract basis for years, some for as long as a decade.   

Most of them receive N$3 300, with no benefits. 

These workers sweep streets, clean open spaces and generally keep the city in good shape. They also deal with the cleaning of stormwater catch pits and culverts, issuing black bags to all households in informal settlements, collection of all household refuse in the informal settlements, as well as emptying all pole refuse and street bins. 

These employees usually work on six-month contracts. This is likened to the repugnant apartheid regime’s contract labour system and conditions. 

An estimated 500 employees participated in the demonstration.  

However, the City of Windhoek officials would not receive any petition from the disgruntled workers. 

While the cleaners have rejected their union representatives, saying trade unions have done nothing for them for years, city officials instead opted to meet with these rejected union representatives. 

City spokesperson Lydia Amutenya on Wednesday afternoon told NBC radio it is difficult for city officials to meet with demonstrating/striking workers as their industrial action is illegal.

While city councillors and officials are too high and mighty to address the plight of these workers, the demonstrators resorted to desperate measures. It is alleged they emptied refuse bins in the street, left bins in the middle of the street, and caused an unsightly scene. 

While the absence of a substantive CEO has not been acutely noticed by residents, it took the absence of these seemingly unimportant workers a few days for residents to realise a vital function was missing. The fact that videos of the mess went viral and Windhoekers were shocked to find their streets in that condition shows the good job these essential workers do. 

Meanwhile, councillors who are unable to perform the most basic of tasks receive outrageous salaries and perks, seemingly at the expense of these workers. 

Windhoek councillors are paid between N$30 000 and N$43 000 per month. On top of this, the monthly allowance for council meetings is between N$1 500 and N$2 300, while workshops, presentations and site visits earn councillors an additional N$1 000.

Last year, it was revealed that some city officials are paid as much as 600% above the market rate. 

The city has a vehicle scheme of N$100 million with Wesbank, where well-paid officials can buy cars at a fixed interest rate. The mayor has access to three official vehicles. 

The city’s N$1.5 billion wage bill is overblown, yet the workers who actually make the city one of the cleanest on the continent are paid peanuts and are stiffed out of a livable wage. 

To add insult to injury, the city lives from hand to mouth through a monthly N$200 million overdraft facility. 

It’s a shame that workers’ rights in this country have been eroded to such an extent that they have to jump through hoops, and even pay the police to embark on industrial action. 

The unions, who are responsible for workers losing their right to withhold their labour, are too often caught between serving their members and serving their political masters. It is, therefore, no surprise that workers reject these union,s as their membership is of no benefit to them. 

The mistrust of unions is the fastest way Namibia will speed down a dark and dangerous path to the complete erosion of workers’ rights and protection. Non-functioning unions are how countries find themselves in positions where capitalist gain trumps any human rights to freedom from exploitation.

It’s time for the councillors to remember why they were voted into office and who voted for them, and end the nightmare that is the city’s administration, and compromise so that the city can function effectively and efficiently.