By Confidente Reporter
GOVERNMENT allowed inexperienced expatriates from Zimbabwe that came under the guise of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by former President Hifikepunye Pohamba and President Robert Mugabe to preside over government capital projects that stretch to several billions in the process putting safety at risk, Confidente can reveal.
Confidente can also reveal that Government has spent at over N$120 million in the past four years in salaries of the 85 Zimbabwean graduates that include trainee architects, trainee quantity surveyors and trainee engineers who came to Namibia disguised under the bilateral MoU as well experienced professionals.
Under the MoU, Namibia was supposed to get well experienced professionals from Zimbabwe that would transfer skills to locals while working on Government capital projects. The foreign nationals were given five-year contracts and a majority of them have been in the country since 2012. Confidente can also reveal that despite a majority of the expatriates being at par in terms of qualifications and lack of professional experience with their local colleagues, the expatriates were employed in senior positions and have to supervise locals despite a majority of them being trainees.
Confidente can also reveal that the expatriates’ salaries mostly average N$30 000 while locals average N$15 000 monthly.
Government is also paying for the expatriates’ accommodation in plush suburbs like Klein Windhoek were rentals can go to as much as N$20 000 per month while only a few stay in Government houses and flats free of charge while locals are not afforded such benefits.
Government is also responsible for the flight tickets of the expatriates when they fly to Zimbabwe with their families once a year.
The majority of the expatriates have all been refused registration under several professional bodies in Namibia and the Ministry of Works and Transport had to register them as professionals in training which means the expatriates are recent graduates with no real professional work experience and therefore are only doing their internship.
“A few of them managed to obtain registration from the two councils governing professional registration in Namibia, namely the Namibian Council of Architects, Quantity Surveyors and the Engineering Council of Namibia (ECN). However all of them are registered with the council as professionals in training. Many non-registered graduates are working for Government, state owned entities, non-governmental organisations and contractors. As long as these institutions are having registered professionals in service, graduates can work as in-training for as long as they opt. The registered professionals in the organisation take full responsibility on all professional work in these fields going out from that institution and only they are allowed to sign payment certificates. The names of the institution also appear on all tender documentation and not the names of the graduates in-training,” the Permanent Secretary of Works and Transport, Willem Goeieman said.
Goeieman also confirmed that Government was paying for all accommodation and transport expenses for the expatriates. “The MoU entered into between the two governments required that Namibia provides in the need for transport and accommodation during the seconded period. Some of them were deployed to the regions where no government accommodation exists. Nine regions already received two deployed staff each from the ministry. The ministry therefore enters into individual lease agreements and are paying the lease of residential accommodation for the seconded staff where needed.”
Local trainee engineers, Confidente spoke to bemoaned how they have to go through the gruelling process of being accredited with ECN so as to be registered yet none of the Zimbabweans have been accredited and enjoy the protection of Government.
“The MoU the Zimbabwe and Namibian governments signed says they were supposed to transfer skills to local Namibians. Under the Engineering Professions Act only registered professionals can transfer skills. Right now there’re registered Namibian engineers who are working under these unregistered expatriates. They’re employed as chiefs and paid as chiefs. According to public service regulations, only registered professionals can occupy the chief position because it’s a supervisory post. Meaning if they’re chiefs they’re supervising, yet the Act says only registered people can supervise.
“GRN entered into this agreement at the expense of its own engineers it sends to study every year; most likely because the Zimbabwean Government has advisors who are engineers, architects and quantity surveyors. Ours doesn’t. Look at the composition of the A-team for example. So GRN was played by people who know the profession well,” some of the disgruntled local engineers who spoke to Confidente said.
Under the country’s laws any person that works as a professional engineer has to be registered by the ECN to legally work in the country.
President of ECN, Markus von Jeney, accused the Ministry of Works of protecting the unregistered engineers adding that although all of them are employed by Government on a full-time basis a majority of them are now engaged in their own private businesses. “No they are not registered and they can’t be working (without being registered) but the Ministry allows them to work and they seem not to care about it. Most of them are now working doing private work as well and not abiding by the law,” he said.