Ongombo West: Out for a duck!

IT started with a dead goose, developed into a labour dispute and ended with the expropriation of a farm. A train of events that started in a flurry of feathers two years ago concluded under the hammer yesterday at Ongombo West with the auctioning of hundreds of belongings with a sentimental value stretching over 101 years.

Ongombo West is the first farm in Namibia to be expropriated. Standing under a huge jacaranda tree at least 30 years older than her, farm owner Hilde Wiese looked at her dusty belongings spread out across her backyard: “That is sad,” she said, referring to the decision to auction off her belongings.”But the bitterness is more.”This is my home.I am a Namibian.My grandfather bought the farm in 1900 and the house was completed in 1907,” she said.Now she must relocate to Windhoek, where they plan to expand their flower-selling business of 46 years.Government expropriated the Wiese’s farm in September this year and paid her N$3,7 million – more than N$5 million short of what she requested.The reason: the Wieses dismissed six farmworkers in a dispute that started with the killing of a goose and a goat.An employee, Cornelia Rooinasie, said she killed the goose “by accident”.The owners demanded that she pay compensation.Then, Heinz Wiese, the husband of owner Hilde, shot and killed a goat belonging to an employee, thinking it was in a restricted area.The worker demanded payment.The whole labour dispute snowballed and became political.”I blame former President (Sam Nujoma) and the farmworkers’ union for everything.He (Nujoma) called me a criminal,” said Andreas Wiese, son of Hilde and foreman at the farm.Nujoma was angered when the Wieses got an eviction order against the workers and singled out Andreas Wiese in a speech at a May Day rally last year.He said “some of the whites are behaving as if they came from Holland or Germany” when it came to evicting their workers.”Steps will be taken and we can drive them out of this land.We have the capacity to do so,” Nujoma said in the speech.Nujoma’s tirade was the last straw for the Wieses, who felt they were being made scapegoats in a political campaign.They accepted Government’s offer to buy the farm as soon as it was made, but struggled to get the price they wanted.It was evident yesterday that life on the farm came to a standstill long before the Wiese’s departure this month.The vegetable garden is already overgrown with weeds, and even the family cat is lying idle in the garden.Both Hilde and Andreas spoke of their dreams to give shares to the workers and how they had intended to expand their flower production into a N$10 million business, employ around 40 more people, build a kindergarten and erect more houses.Ongombo West exported around 150 000 flowers a year, and the Wiese family was in the process of increasing the exports to 750 000 flowers annually, when the labour dispute resulted in the sacking, eviction and re-appointment of the six workers.”People were clearly used by the union and I am forced to leave my home.I am angry but what can I do? I am a Namibian with the wrong colour,” Andreas said, shrugging his shoulders.Gone with Andreas will be the flower production.He says flower farming is sophisticated and claims to be the only person in the whole of southern Africa qualified to produce the Zantedeschia flowers grown at Ongombo after receiving training in Germany and Holland.The sale of the farm has swelled the number of unemployed by nine.”I don’t know what we will do.”said Elias //Hoebeb, who has worked on the farm for the last 21 years.”The Government told us to remain on the farm until further notice.We expect them to come back in January.”While waiting for Government, he and five other workers plan to start planting vegetables to make ends meet.They will be under the watchful eye of Oscar Muundjua, placed on the farm by Government as caretaker to prevent the theft of any equipment.Standing under a huge jacaranda tree at least 30 years older than her, farm owner Hilde Wiese looked at her dusty belongings spread out across her backyard: “That is sad,” she said, referring to the decision to auction off her belongings.”But the bitterness is more.”This is my home.I am a Namibian.My grandfather bought the farm in 1900 and the house was completed in 1907,” she said.Now she must relocate to Windhoek, where they plan to expand their flower-selling business of 46 years.Government expropriated the Wiese’s farm in September this year and paid her N$3,7 million – more than N$5 million short of what she requested.The reason: the Wieses dismissed six farmworkers in a dispute that started with the killing of a goose and a goat.An employee, Cornelia Rooinasie, said she killed the goose “by accident”.The owners demanded that she pay compensation.Then, Heinz Wiese, the husband of owner Hilde, shot and killed a goat belonging to an employee, thinking it was in a restricted area.The worker demanded payment.The whole labour dispute snowballed and became political.”I blame former President (Sam Nujoma) and the farmworkers’ union for everything.He (Nujoma) called me a criminal,” said Andreas Wiese, son of Hilde and foreman at the farm.Nujoma was angered when the Wieses got an eviction order against the workers and singled out Andreas Wiese in a speech at a May Day rally last year.He said “some of the whites are behaving as if they came from Holland or Germany” when it came to evicting their workers.”Steps will be taken and we can drive them out of this land.We have the capacity to do so,” Nujoma said in the speech.Nujoma’s tirade was the last straw for the Wieses, who felt they were being made scapegoats in a political campaign.They accepted Government’s offer to buy the farm as soon as it was made, but struggled to get the price they wanted.It was evident yesterday that life on the farm came to a standstill long before the Wiese’s departure this month.The vegetable garden is already overgrown with weeds, and even the family cat is lying idle in the garden.Both Hilde and Andreas spoke of their dreams to give shares to the workers and how they had intended to expand their flower production into a N$10 million business, employ around 40 more people, build a kindergarten and erect more houses.Ongombo West exported around 150 000 flowers a year, and the Wiese family was in the process of increasing the exports to 750 000 flowers annually, when the labour dispute resulted in the sacking, eviction and re-appointment of the six workers.”People were clearly used by the union and I am forced to leave my home.I am angry but what can I do? I am a Namibian with the wrong colour,” Andreas said, shrugging his shoulders.Gone with Andreas will be the flower production.He says flower farming is sophisticated and claims to be the only person in the whole of southern Africa qualified to produce the Zantedeschia flowers grown at Ongombo after receiving training in Germany and Holland.The sale of the farm has swelled the number of unemployed by nine.”I don’t know what we will do.”said Elias //Hoebeb, who has worked on the farm for the last 21 years.”The Government told us to remain on the farm until further notice.We expect them to come back in January.”While waiting for Government, he and five other workers plan to start planting vegetables to make ends meet.They will be under the watchful eye of Oscar Muundjua, placed on the farm by Government as caretaker to prevent the theft of any equipment.