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Amcom workers dumped on streets, commission told

Amcom workers dumped on streets, commission told

THE Presidential Commission of Inquiry into the Development Brigade Corporation (DBC) and the Amalgamated Commercial Holding (Amcom) yesterday heard how hundreds of former Amcom employees were unceremoniously “thrown onto the streets” after the failed parastatal was dismantled in 2000.

“Mr Ndishishi (Andrew, Permanent Secretary of Trade and Industry) told us that it was going to be a smooth process, no one was going to lose their jobs but at the end everything was done in a hurry and most of the former employees are still on the streets now,” former Amcom employee Joseph Kabonda testified before the commission yesterday. His sentiments were echoed by Amcom’s former General Manager of Operations, Martinus Blaaw, who revealed that he had to take early retirement because he felt “completely excluded” from the privatisation exercise of the company.”I felt very, very strongly that everything should have been done to ensure that employees get the [Amcom] businesses …too little was done and the process was too fast for the former employees to buy the businesses which were being alienated,” he said.Despite constant assurances that the Amcom employees would given the first option to either buy the State company’s businesses or take up jobs with their new owners, the Namibia Development Corporation (NDC) shed the about 700 workers and absorbed Amcom.The move had followed a Cabinet announcement in 1999 that the NDC was “facing problems” therefore Amcom needed to be integrated into it “to strengthen the capital base of the NDC.”At the time Government also asserted that Amcom was set up with NDC assets to prepare the infrastructure for sale to private owners, hence its dismantling could enable the NDC to concentrate on developing and promoting business activities instead of competing directly in the retail and manufacturing industries.But yesterday the presidential commissioners were firm as they sought to determine whether the “alienation process” was necessary and who exactly benefited from it.It has apparently emerged that in some instances the same people who were driving the process [sale of Amcom assets] were the same people tendering for the businesses.”Who do you think benefited from this whole [alienation] process?” commissioner Festus Mbandeka asked ex-employee Kabonda.”It’s a difficult question, but I believe those people who were behind the shutting down of Amcom benefited…they wouldn’t have taken a decision that they did not benefit from,” the witness responded.Kabonda, who told the commission that at the time he served as shop steward for Namibia Public Workers Union (Napwu), claimed that there were no consultation with the union about the workers’ fate.Blaaw testified that although the idea of alienating Amcom assets might have been good, the way it was done it did not yield the envisaged results.This prompted Commission chairperson Petrus Unengu to ask him that:”Would you agree with me that it [the alienation process] was not even necessary?” “Yes, that is my absolute view,” Blaaw replied in raised voiced.According to him, the dismantling of Amcom was dramatic and caused uncertainty after former Foreign Affairs Minister Hidipo Hamutenya, then at Trade and Industry, apparently ordered workers in Windhoek to abandon the company and move to the NDC headquarters within two days.He spoke about “friction” between former Amcom Managing Director, Ben Siyambango, and the Board of Directors which according to him affected the company’s operations adversely.Siyambango clashed with Hamutenya over the plans to integrate Amcom into the NDC, a move which he openly opposed.His sentiments were echoed by Amcom’s former General Manager of Operations, Martinus Blaaw, who revealed that he had to take early retirement because he felt “completely excluded” from the privatisation exercise of the company.”I felt very, very strongly that everything should have been done to ensure that employees get the [Amcom] businesses …too little was done and the process was too fast for the former employees to buy the businesses which were being alienated,” he said.Despite constant assurances that the Amcom employees would given the first option to either buy the State company’s businesses or take up jobs with their new owners, the Namibia Development Corporation (NDC) shed the about 700 workers and absorbed Amcom.The move had followed a Cabinet announcement in 1999 that the NDC was “facing problems” therefore Amcom needed to be integrated into it “to strengthen the capital base of the NDC.”At the time Government also asserted that Amcom was set up with NDC assets to prepare the infrastructure for sale to private owners, hence its dismantling could enable the NDC to concentrate on developing and promoting business activities instead of competing directly in the retail and manufacturing industries.But yesterday the presidential commissioners were firm as they sought to determine whether the “alienation process” was necessary and who exactly benefited from it.It has apparently emerged that in some instances the same people who were driving the process [sale of Amcom assets] were the same people tendering for the businesses.”Who do you think benefited from this whole [alienation] process?” commissioner Festus Mbandeka asked ex-employee Kabonda.”It’s a difficult question, but I believe those people who were behind the shutting down of Amcom benefited…they wouldn’t have taken a decision that they did not benefit from,” the witness responded.Kabonda, who told the commission that at the time he served as shop steward for Namibia Public Workers Union (Napwu), claimed that there were no consultation with the union about the workers’ fate.Blaaw testified that although the idea of alienating Amcom assets might have been good, the way it was done it did not yield the envisaged results.This prompted Commission chairperson Petrus Unengu to ask him that:”Would you agree with me that it [the alienation process] was not even necessary?” “Yes, that is my absolute view,” Blaaw replied in raised voiced.According to him, the dismantling of Amcom was dramatic and caused uncertainty after former Foreign Affairs Minister Hidipo Hamutenya, then at Trade and Industry, apparently ordered workers in Windhoek to abandon the company and move to the NDC headquarters within two days.He spoke about “friction” between former Amcom Managing Director, Ben Siyambango, and the Board of Directors which according to him affected the company’s operations adversely.Siyambango clashed with Hamutenya over the plans to integrate Amcom into the NDC, a move which he openly opposed.

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