Reasons for AA delays debated

WHETHER Namibia’s progress in implementing affirmative action is the result of employers’ unwillingness to adhere to the law, or of a general skills shortage, was the topic of heated debate in Windhoek last week.

On one side of the debate was the Namibian Employers’ Federation (NEF), whose Secretary General Tim Parkhouse says that there are simply not enough skilled people in previously disadvantaged groups to speed up the process at a satisfactory rate. Alerting participants at a round-table discussion on Affirmative Action to a recent study done by the National Planning Commission, Parkhouse cited a number of professions that are expected to run into trouble by 2012 because of a lack of qualified people in Namibia.The study indicated a shortage of 121 dental professionals, 392 medical professionals, 2 362 nurses and 2 300 financial practitioners, Parkhouse said, adding that the country currently is forced to find these professionals outside its borders.The problem, he said, was two-fold.On the one hand the country’s history with apartheid and the Bantu-education system was responsible for the limited number of professionals, while on the other students who finish their studies often leave the country for greener pastures.Parkhouse also argued that tertiary education graduates often refused to work their way up the ladder in an organisation, demanding instant high salaries.”Let’s be clear about this.A student coming from the Polytechnic, from Unam or any other tertiary institution does not automatically qualify for high salaries.Our young people need to learn that the university of life is vital.Experience is vital,” he said.Agreeing with him was Mark Hill, Group Director from the Pupkewitz Group, whose Motoring Division has been criticised for its track record in implementing affirmative action.Hill said the Group spends “a tremendous amount” of money on training staff, only to have them poached by competitors.The brain drain was making it difficult for companies who are trying to establish a skilled group to reach its set goals, Hill said.According to a National Union for Namibian Workers (NUNW) report shared during the meeting, the Pupkewitz Motoring Division in 2001 had only nine black employees at supervisor level, compared to 20 white employees, including four women.Middle management comprised of two black employees (one female), compared to 31 white employees, NUNW representative Moses Shikwa said.Employment Equity Commissioner Vilbard Usiku charged that employers too often came up with the excuse that there is a “so-called insufficient pool of suitably qualified people from the designated groups”.”However, relevant employers do not tell the public about what they ought to do in order to ensure that there is a sufficient number of suitably qualified persons.The affirmative action law requires relevant employers to train their employees and develop their skill levels as a way of preparing them to assume positions of responsibility instead of looking for those already trained by others,” Usiku said.Quoting from his organisation’s last annual report, Usiku said that only 25 per cent of all executive directors during the 2005-2006 financial year, and 45 per cent of all senior managers were black.Of even greater concern was the data for people living with disabilities.A mere 0,42 per cent of the total workforce were disabled, Usiku said.”We are currently preparing an annual report for the review period 2006-2007 and we do not expect much difference from the previous reports,” Usiku said.Alerting participants at a round-table discussion on Affirmative Action to a recent study done by the National Planning Commission, Parkhouse cited a number of professions that are expected to run into trouble by 2012 because of a lack of qualified people in Namibia.The study indicated a shortage of 121 dental professionals, 392 medical professionals, 2 362 nurses and 2 300 financial practitioners, Parkhouse said, adding that the country currently is forced to find these professionals outside its borders.The problem, he said, was two-fold.On the one hand the country’s history with apartheid and the Bantu-education system was responsible for the limited number of professionals, while on the other students who finish their studies often leave the country for greener pastures.Parkhouse also argued that tertiary education graduates often refused to work their way up the ladder in an organisation, demanding instant high salaries.”Let’s be clear about this.A student coming from the Polytechnic, from Unam or any other tertiary institution does not automatically qualify for high salaries.Our young people need to learn that the university of life is vital.Experience is vital,” he said.Agreeing with him was Mark Hill, Group Director from the Pupkewitz Group, whose Motoring Division has been criticised for its track record in implementing affirmative action.Hill said the Group spends “a tremendous amount” of money on training staff, only to have them poached by competitors.The brain drain was making it difficult for companies who are trying to establish a skilled group to reach its set goals, Hill said.According to a National Union for Namibian Workers (NUNW) report shared during the meeting, the Pupkewitz Motoring Division in 2001 had only nine black employees at supervisor level, compared to 20 white employees, including four women.Middle management comprised of two black employees (one female), compared to 31 white employees, NUNW representative Moses Shikwa said.Employment Equity Commissioner Vilbard Usiku charged that employers too often came up with the excuse that there is a “so-called insufficient pool of suitably qualified people from the designated groups”.”However, relevant employers do not tell the public about what they ought to do in order to ensure that there is a sufficient number of suitably qualified persons.The affirmative action law requires relevant employers to train their employees and develop their skill levels as a way of preparing them to assume positions of responsibility instead of looking for those already trained by others,” Usiku said.Quoting from his organisation’s last annual report, Usiku said that only 25 per cent of all executive directors during the 2005-2006 financial year, and 45 per cent of all senior managers were black.Of even greater concern was the data for people living with disabilities.A mere 0,42 per cent of the total workforce were disabled, Usiku said.”We are currently preparing an annual report for the review period 2006-2007 and we do not expect much difference from the previous reports,” Usiku said.