WINDHOEK – Namibians employed at the U.S Embassy in Windhoek have not been spared from the non-payment of wages that has affected 800 000 American government workers the longest ever shutdown in that country’s history.
Last December, American President Donald Trump ordered a government shutdown and Namibians employed at the American Embassy could not receive their salaries last Friday. The Namibian employees were informed this would not affect them as their work was considered essential and would mainly affect US government employees across the board. An employee who spoke on condition of anonymity informed this reporter, that they were surprised when their salary notification did not come through as usual. Upon enquiring when they should expect their pay, the embassy could not give them a clear answer.
Upon enquiry, a representative at the embassy advised New Era to visit their Facebook page for clarification. The post on their page reads ‘’Effective December 22, there has been a lapse in appropriations funding some parts of the U.S.
Government. All scheduled passport and visa services at the U.S. Embassy will continue, and emergency services for U.S. citizens are still available. All other routine U.S. Embassy services are suspended until funding resumes. The U.S. Mission in Namibia will not be updating its social media platforms during the lapse in appropriations,’’ it was stated.
In the U.S. roughly 800 000 federal workers did not get their salaries on Friday, with most of them resorting to selling their valuables to pay their essential bills
President Trump has been at odds with Democrats as he is demanding US$5.7 billion to build a wall, that will prevent Mexicans from entering the country and also reduce rampant drug trafficking at the border. This move has been the longest shutdown since Bill Clinton enforced a shutdown in 1995-1996 which lasted 21 days.
Disgruntled Namibian employees are now left with more worries as they are also unable to pay their monthly expenses, debit orders on time, and daily bills keep pilling up. Before going to print, New Era was reliably informed that some employees from the embassy received their pay late on Tuesday afternoon.