Fund accused of short-changing Tsumkwe youth

The Palms for Life Fund has been accused of failing to compensate the Tsumkwe youth for a clean-up initiative at the town.

Tsumkwe-based community activist Calvin Kazibe, in a letter addressed to the fund on 1 September, says participants were promised monthly food vouchers of N$2 500, but for the past months they have been receiving N$1 000 only.

Kazibe deems the payments as unjust and demands that the matter is urgently addressed, or the youth would down tools.

“I am writing on behalf of the Tsumkwe community to formally raise a serious concern regarding the ongoing treatment and payment of our local youth involved in the Palms for Life Fund initiative.

“It has come to our attention that despite an initial agreement that each youth participant would be compensated with food vouchers to the amount of N$2 500, they are currently only receiving food vouchers to the value of N$1 000.

“This amount is not only far below what was agreed upon, but also fails to reflect the dedication, time, and effort these young individuals are investing in your programme,” he says.

Underpaying the participants is a form of exploitation, Kazibe says, and is deeply disappointing, especially coming from an organisation that claims to work towards social justice and community upliftment.

The activist is demanding that the monthly food vouchers be increased to the originally agreed upon amount of N$2 500 per month.

Kazibe says the community proposed that at least 1 500 food vouchers and N$1 000 be provided in cash as some of the young participants are parents.

He says the fund should ensure all future engagements with the community adhere strictly to fair labour practices and mutual respect.

Kazibe warns that should this issue remain unresolved, the community would have no choice but to advise its youth to suspend their involvement and to seek further intervention from the relevant advocacy bodies, donors, and media platforms to expose the unfair treatment.

“Our community supports development efforts, but not at the cost of exploiting vulnerable youth who are only trying to build a better future,” he says.

Founded on 4 April 2006 as a non-profit organisation, the fund launched the ‘Our Trash, Our Responsibility’ campaign under the slogan ‘Tsumkwe is Not a Trash Can’.

Contacted for comment last week, Palms for Life Fund national coordinator Kingston Makoni said as far as he knows the young people have been receiving their vouchers.

No complaint on the matter has reached him, he said.

Makoni referred The Namibian to the fund’s executive director, Belinda Karuaihe, who confirmed that no complaint has been received.

“I consulted the relevant department, and the agreements with the cleaning campaign participants for the food vouchers monthly are valued at N$1 000 per month,” she said.

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