The officials claim they have been calling unsuccessfully for a re-grading of their jobs since 2002.

The demonstration is not supported by the Namibia Public Workers' Union (Napwu), which has called on staff to be patient since Government was working on their concerns.

Some of the staff members told The Namibian that they have had enough.

"The cost of living has skyrocketed but we are told to be patient.

That is unacceptable," said one staff member.

They claim that the Government could lose around N$500 million a day in revenue if they go on strike.

The Namibian was unable to verify the claim.

The staff said they would demonstrate despite an appeal by the Permanent Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister, Nangula Mbako, who called for "restraint".

She want the staff to give the administrators time to develop a system that will objectively evaluate the various job categories in Government and not just at Customs and Excise.

Mbako said Cabinet recently decided that the Office of the Prime Minister should develop a new job evaluation and grading scheme for the whole public service and a tender was granted for that.

"In light of the above, all re-grading requests have been put on hold until the new job evaluation and grading system is acquired," Mbako wrote in a letter to her Finance counterpart, Calle Schlettwein.

However, the staff claim they have been waiting for too long.

The entry-level qualification for a customs and excise officer, according to the public service rules, is Grade 12.

However, for the past 10 years the Ministry of Finance has changed the entry-level qualification to a three-year diploma or degree at a salary notch of N$46 503 to N$59 214 a year.

The staff have proposed a salary scale of N$100 818 to N$119 376 a year for the entry level because of the required academic qualification.

In a memo to Finance Minister Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila, the staff said they were "extremely underpaid" while facing high fuel prices, taxi fares, water and electricity tariffs, increased housing costs, high bank rates, rising food prices and tuition fees at institutions of higher learning.

"These salaries have reduced us to mere dimwit goons, dullards, no-brainers and helpless pariahs not only in the eyes of the public but also among fellow graduates and workers of other institutions," they wrote to the Minister.

A senior official in the Office of the Prime Minister only reiterated Mbako's appeal for patience.

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