OTJIWARONGO – The Otjibamba Lodge, situated near the town of Otjiwarongo in the Otjozondjupa Region, shut down and closed its gates and business operations last week.
The lodge is part of the Global Quaestor Investment (GQI) entity, which has its headquarters in Windhoek. GQI’s Corporate Affairs’ Manager, Djion Neto confirmed to Nampa that all business activities at the lodge were suspended last week.
Neto said Otjibamba Lodge has been struggling with profitability over the past several years.
The lodge was officially opened in 1991, and GQI purchased the establishment in 2009 from the previous owners.
“The employees at the lodge were notified of their retrenchment as well as their retrenchment packages, which will be paid in full under the current Namibian labour law guidelines,” he said.
Neto explained that the Namibia Food and Allied Workers’ Union (Nafau) is representing the lodge workers in the retrenchment negotiations with GQI’s management.
He added that workers’ salaries for April and May have already been paid, and salaries for the month of June will be paid out this week still.
According to Neto, his company is also weighing the option of putting the lodge on the market for sale.
Otjibamba Lodge Manager, Hein Schultz told Nampa in an interview that about 26 workers, including himself, were to be retrenched.
– Nampa
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