NUNW to meet Weatherly on Ongopolo

THE National Union of Namibian Workers is in the process of setting up a meeting with British-based Weatherly International to get clarity on issues affecting workers and the future of Ongopolo Mining and Processing (OMP).

Union insiders told The Namibian that the meeting would also clarify questions leaders have about the future of Ongopolo as the NUNW intensifies an investigation into the alleged financial mismanagement at Ongopolo that led to the Weatherly takeover. NUNW President Alpheus Muheua said recently that the company had been on the verge of collapse when it decided to seek investors, and Weatherly committed itself to paying £17 million (about N$183 m) in cash for its stake.Muheua said the NUNW had had to act swiftly, as workers had been about to end up on the streets.Weatherly has also signed an interim management agreement, under which it will take over operational management during a restructuring period leading to a completion of the transaction.Its equity interest in the Tsumeb mine could ultimately rise to a maximum of 70 per cent, according to details of the transaction published by the company in London last month.The NUNW, some former managers of Tsumeb Corporation Limited (TCL) and Government regulatory institutions became partners of after the former TCL mining company collapsed in 2000 and it was renamed Ongopolo.TCL, the foremost copper and lead producer in Namibia, was placed in liquidation by the holding company Gold Fields Namibia and Ongopolo acquired the assets to create a Namibian-controlled company.NUNW President Alpheus Muheua said recently that the company had been on the verge of collapse when it decided to seek investors, and Weatherly committed itself to paying £17 million (about N$183 m) in cash for its stake.Muheua said the NUNW had had to act swiftly, as workers had been about to end up on the streets.Weatherly has also signed an interim management agreement, under which it will take over operational management during a restructuring period leading to a completion of the transaction.Its equity interest in the Tsumeb mine could ultimately rise to a maximum of 70 per cent, according to details of the transaction published by the company in London last month.The NUNW, some former managers of Tsumeb Corporation Limited (TCL) and Government regulatory institutions became partners of after the former TCL mining company collapsed in 2000 and it was renamed Ongopolo.TCL, the foremost copper and lead producer in Namibia, was placed in liquidation by the holding company Gold Fields Namibia and Ongopolo acquired the assets to create a Namibian-controlled company.