Tses village workers not paid

EMPLOYEES of the Tses Village Council downed tools on Wednesday and Thursday in protest against the non-payment of their salaries for two consecutive months.

The Namibian has it on good authority that the council spends N$56 000 a month on salaries. The Chairman of the Village Council, Petrus Witbooi, blamed the council’s financial woes on the Ministry of Regional and Local Government.He said the ministry had not released the village’s operational budget funds.According to Witbooi, village councils in the Karas Region plan to visit the Minister this week to express their concern.The Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Erastus Negongo, has dismissed the allegations as untrue.Negongo said the Ministry this year stopped subsidising capital projects in villages and towns because councils were misusing the money for other purposes.”On numerous occasions councils had utilised funds meant for capital projects for other purposes, thus we decided to pay the funds directly to the service providers who are granted the tender,” he said.Negongo urged village councils to improve their revenue collection.The Chairman of the Village Council, Petrus Witbooi, blamed the council’s financial woes on the Ministry of Regional and Local Government.He said the ministry had not released the village’s operational budget funds.According to Witbooi, village councils in the Karas Region plan to visit the Minister this week to express their concern.The Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Erastus Negongo, has dismissed the allegations as untrue.Negongo said the Ministry this year stopped subsidising capital projects in villages and towns because councils were misusing the money for other purposes.”On numerous occasions councils had utilised funds meant for capital projects for other purposes, thus we decided to pay the funds directly to the service providers who are granted the tender,” he said.Negongo urged village councils to improve their revenue collection.