Darkness atunion offices

City of Windhoek cuts NUNW’s electricity

The City of Windhoek has cut off electricity at the head office of the Swapo-affiliated labour union, the National Union of Namibian Workers (NUNW) at Katutura, after months of non-payment.

An NUNW source told The Namibian last week that the electricity supply was cut off in November last year after the union allegedly failed to settle its N$120 000 outstanding electricity account with the municipality.

The source says the disconnection has affected operations at the union’s headquarters, which serves as an administrative centre for NUNW activities.

“The electricity has been cut off by the municipality as the NUNW offices remain in arrears.

The only operating offices at the centre are those with their own prepaid meters, which are only three.”

“However, these offices also face uncertainty as they will not be able to purchase electricity once their current units are depleted, as their prepaid meters are linked to the main electricity box and the erf number of NUNW,” the source adds.

The source says the staff members of the affected unions have been working from home.

NUNW secretary general Job Muniaro confirms that the electricity supply was cut, but says the disconnection occurred in December last year, not November.

“It’s a normal issue. It was not cut off because we were not paying. We were paying, but maybe we had not finished paying, and they decided that the outstanding amount was too big,” Muniaro said on Saturday.

He said the union has since settled its electricity account with the City of Windhoek.

When asked why there was still no electricity at the offices on Friday, Muniaro attributed the delay to leaking underground water pipes at the premises.

“There are underground pipes that are leaking, and we decided to fix that first.

Now those are being repaired. You know, they keep leaking, and our meter keeps running even if nobody is in the office.

If you go there, you will find people repairing the old pipes,” he said.

Muniaro said once the repairs are completed, the union plans to install prepaid electricity meters. “Maybe next week will be the last day of us not having electricity.”

He also disclosed that NUNW owes the City of Windhoek about N$40 000 in water bills.

Concerns over the electricity cuts are also contained in a leaked email dated 26 January this year, written by Labour Resources and Research Institute (LaRRI) director Michael Akupa and addressed to Muniaro.

In the email, Akupa expresses serious concern over what he describes as long-standing and recurring interruptions of municipal services at the centre over the past 11 years, noting that the latest outages have had a severe impact on operations.

“As for LaRRI, we continue to make business losses,” Akupa writes, questioning whether the secretary general’s office had engaged the federation’s constitutional structures or the City of Windhoek to resolve the problem.

He describes the issue as “structural” and deeper than merely affiliates being asked to contribute towards outstanding bills, and calls for transparency and leadership intervention.

Akupa poses several questions in the email, including the cause of the recurring problem, why it has become perpetual and why there appears to be inaction from NUNW structures.

He also warns of the reputational damage to the federation, particularly as preparations for May Day celebrations are under way.

“It will be an interesting irony if all NUNW functionaries are called upon to contribute to that magnanimous event while we do not even have electricity,” he writes.

Akupa urges Muniaro to provide direction and practical solutions, warning that failure to address such challenges contributes to the federation’s declining image and credibility.

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