Ehafo still in dire straits

RECEIVING a steady salary while not reporting for duty has become the order of the day at the Ehafo Trust on the outskirts of Windhoek.

More than two years after taking over the Trust, in March 2007, Government still has not managed to turn around the fortunes of the project. Government took over Ehafo from its previous board in 2007, after financial woes resulted in non-payment of salaries and confrontation between the then board of directors and workers.But while Government is now believed to have settled most of the project’s outstanding debts, which brought the centre to the brink of collapse, new jobs have not been created and disabled workers at the centre remain inactive.Many of the workers were no longer reporting for duty, despite being paid a salary.The main activity at Ehafo over the years has been the repair of broken furniture from schools countrywide, under a long-standing agreement with the Ministry of Education.However, workers spoken to at the centre yesterday said they were unable to work as most of the machinery needed was broken and unusable.Permanent Secretary in the Education Ministry, Vitalis Ankama, told The Namibian before the long weekend that additional machines and tools were expected soon, although he did not provide specifics. Ankama said the centre is being run by an inter-ministerial committee that currently acts as an interim board.The committee consists of representatives from the ministries of Education, Lands and Resettlement, Gender Equality and Child Welfare, Trade and Industry, Health and Social Services as well as the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare.The Public Service Commission (PSC) recommended in November last year that the Ehafo Trust should fall under the Directorate of Vocational Education and Training in the Ministry of Education. This arrangement came into effect on December 1 last year, until November 30 this year, as per the PSC’s recommendation.