Otjiwarongo residents on Monday threatened to stage a peaceful demonstration against the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) for allegedly recruiting individuals with government jobs to serve as ECN officials during the upcoming regional council and local authority elections.
The aggrieved residents made the threats on Monday at the Ombili Primary School Hall, where the ECN's week-long training workshop is taking place.
They alleged that half of the ECN officials undergoing training are employed at institutions such as Orwetoveni Primary School, the Otjiwarongo Police Station, the army and the Otjiwarongo municipality.
"There is a cleaner of the Motor Vehicle Accident (MVA) Fund Otjiwarongo, a bookkeeper at the University of Namibia in Windhoek and an official of Telecom," the residents said.
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The group of more than 50 people said they are unemployed and want to be considered for these ECN positions, arguing that the ECN's advertisement clearly stated that the jobs were intended for unemployed individuals.
ECN Otjiwarongo returning officer Charlotte Jantze, who is conducting the training, says the ECN employment contract does not allow its officials to hold other jobs.
"I also announced this morning that any person undergoing this training who has a job elsewhere should leave the hall. The problem lies with the applications, which were submitted online, making it difficult for us to verify whether the accused individuals are employed elsewhere," says Jantze.
However, two senior managers at the Telecom Otjiwarongo office, two Otjiwarongo municipality officials and Orwetoveni Primary School have confirmed that the individuals named by the aggrieved group are indeed employees at their workplaces and are currently on leave.
MVA Fund Otjiwarongo manager Monica Snewe says the female employee in question is a cleaner at her office but is employed by a private cleaning company that won the cleaning tender.
The owner of Erastus Kuume Investment CC, which is contracted by MVA Fund to provide cleaning services at Otjiwarongo, Erastus Kuume, in a telephone interview said the employee had discussed the matter with him, and he allowed her to take the ECN job for a few days.
Otjozondjupa ECN regional electoral officer Victoria Amutenya said on Monday afternoon that she would investigate the matter and remove any individuals with other jobs from the ECN list.
ECN spokesperson De Wet Siluka, in a telephone interview also Monday afternoon, said once evidence is provided to him, the ECN will remove such individuals' names from the list.
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