NTB employees hold peaceful demonstration

WINDHOEK, 04 JUL  – Namibia Tourism Board (NTB) employees on Tuesday staged a peaceful demonstration in Windhoek to express their disappointment in the NTB board and to secure a 10 per cent salary increase.
The petition, read by chairperson of the workers union representative committee, Theo Kamatoto, said the workers have lost confidence in Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Digu //Naobeb.
“He must be charged for all misconducts he committed,” the workers said, adding that Minister of Environment and Tourism, Pohamba Shifeta should discharge the entire NTB board and appoint a new board.
The employees are accusing //Naobeb of defying a court order that ordered the reinstatement of Ndapewa Kankondi as head of finance. She was dismissed in March 2015 due to alleged insubordination and abuse of subsistence and travel allowances, but the tourism board has been ordered by a local labour arbitrator to reinstate her.
According to the petition, the NTB has spent almost N.dollars 1 million on legal fees to “fight its own workforce.” The employees are also unhappy about the more than N. dollars 20 million spent on the Kora All Africa Music Awards that never took place.
They further allege that the company continues to pump millions of dollars into a management information system that is no longer serving its purpose.
The employees also demand that the CEO and Head of Marketing to be charged for allegedly awarding contracts to Wild Africa Travel, which is owned by NTB board chairperson Paul Brinkmann.
“If the senior managers can’t be charged then we demand that all other disciplinary charges against other employees ordered by //Naobeb through their heads of department be withdrawn,” the petition reads.
The NTB management will be given five days to respond to the grievances, after which the employees will launch a dispute with the labour commission.
Namibia Public Workers Union branch organiser, Eliphas Andowa told Nampa the demonstration will continue every day between 13h00 and 14h00 until someone from management agrees to receive the petition.

NAMPA