Pohamba condemns abuse by Chinese

ENGELA – President Hifikepunye Pohamba has condemned Chinese nationals who relieve themselves in plastic shopping bags and then order their Namibian workers to discard the bags of faeces and urine in public refuse bins.

A Chinese supervisor at Otjiwarongo in the Otjozondjupa Region was recently accused of relieving herself in a plastic bag and instructing a junior staff member, a Namibian, to dispose of the excrement in a rubbish bin outside the shop in the central business district. The incident took place in February this year.
The accused supervisor was identified as Samanda Zhou and the junior Namibian staff member was Emma Nuusiku Kadhidhi, who was even dismissed for refusing to dispose of the human faeces.
Owner of the shop, Stephen Wang, is said to have ordered Zhou to defecate in plastic shopping bags whenever nature called, and for the employees to discard of the human waste.
Wang admitted to this fact and apologised for the incident during Labour and Social Welfare Minister Doreen Sioka’s visit to the shop last week.
Speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of the Omafo-Outapi tarmac road at Engela village in the Ohangwena Region on Wednesday, an angry Pohamba described the faeces incident as a mistake.
“One Chinese at Otjiwarongo made a mistake which tarnished the good name of China by relieving in a plastic bag in a shop and trying to use Namibians to remove the bag. They should stop this forthwith,” Pohamba said.
He stressed that any Chinese national or anybody else, who will try to treat Namibian employees in a similar manner, will be dealt with effectively.
“We don’t want our people to be treated like that. I condemn such people,” said Pohamba.
The Namibian leader also criticised Chinese nationals who are running businesses in Namibia without putting up toilets.
Wang is said to have informed Sioka that a toilet has been put up inside his shop since the incident, and he has promised that what happened to Kadhidhi will not repeat itself.
The company which has been contracted to upgrade the Omafo-Outapi gravel road to bitumen standard is also a Chinese company, China Gezhouba Group Company Limited. – Nampa

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