Grootfontein farmworker (27) burns arm, gets only N$500, appeals to government for support

A Grootfontein farmworker (27) who suffered severe burns at work and received only N$500, is now appealing to the government for support.

Cornelius Isaya, who hails from Okalongo settlement in the Omusati region, sustained severe burns while refilling a compressor machine used to pump water on farm Mandongo, with petrol.

The incident has left his right arm barely functioning, he says.

Isaya, who has been working on the farm as a general worker for the past four years, says he has received no meaningful assistance since the incident, apart from N$500 from his employer on 25 July.

The farm is owned by Elizabeth Indongo, the widow of Namibia’s first deputy minister of health, Dr Iyambo Indongo.
“I’m not sure if I’ll ever recover completely.

My right arm isn’t functioning properly, and it’s going to be difficult for me to work,” he says.

He says his employer has also stopped paying him his monthly salary of N$1 500 since the incident.

Isaya wishes to be registered for a disability grant so that his three young children, aged six, five and three, could qualify for a vulnerable children grant.

“I fear my boss might not be held accountable for my injury, because in our justice system, the rich seem to get favoured even when they’re wrong,” he says.

Isaya says he has no other benefits apart from his salary, as the farm’s workers are not registered at the Social Security Commission (SSC).
Indongo could not be reached for comment by the time of going to print yesterday.

Grootfontein community activist Paulus Haindere says he has asked the minister of justice and labour relations to visit Isaya at Grootfontein State Hospital to assess the situation.

“It will give him [the minister] the courage to mandate all companies in Namibia that do not have social security for their workers to make sure every worker is registered,” he says.

Ministry of Health and Social Services spokesperson Walters Kamaya says medical reports are provided on request, specifically for cases where individuals intend to report work-related injuries to the Labour Commission.

“Anybody who has experienced trauma . . . the social worker at the hospital gives counselling for them to cope,” he says.

Justice ministry spokesperson Jeremia Namalenga says employers have a legal duty to provide a safe working environment and to ensure the welfare of their workers.

“They are also required to report workplace accidents to a labour inspector in the prescribed manner,” he says.

Namalenga says the ministry supports workers injured on duty primarily through the framework established under the Employee Compensation Amendment Act.

Namibian employers have an obligation in terms of this act to register their employees with social security, he says.

“In case of an employee who dies or sustains injuries as a result of a workplace accident or disease, the employer must, in addition to making the necessary emergency arrangement to assist the victim, report to Social Security Commission (SSC) to render the victim the required assistance,” he says.

Namalenga says if an employee is not registered with the SSC, the matter must still be reported to the commission so it can make an informed decision.

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