NAMIBIAN architects and quantity surveyors yesterday delivered close to 400 CVs to the works ministry as proof that the country has skilled professionals.
Works permanent secretary Willem Goeiemann received the CVs from 20 members of the Namibian Society of Engineers. The engineers and quantity surveyors are opposing plans to extend the contracts of Zimbabwean expatriates.
In a statement, the engineers said the agreement between Namibia and Zimbabwe expired without even producing a single success story from the intended goals. The group referred to the current financial climate in Namibia, saying the decline of the construction industry has forced many experienced professionals onto the streets.
Goeiemann made it clear that although they received the CVs, there were no vacant positions as all government posts have been frozen.
He said the MoU had to be extended to cater for expatriates who have not yet completed their five-year terms.
One of the professions asked Goeiemann whether a monthly N$50 million bill for the expatriates made any sense, to which the permanent secretary answered that if the ministry needed the skills, then they would pay the N$50 million.
“I still feel that the process of renewing the MoU should continue,” Goeiemann said.
He added that one of the reasons why they are extending the contracts of the expatriates is because the expatriates have families, and that they want to be sensitive towards them.
Attorney general Sacky Shanghala is currently attending to a letter from the Namibian professionals’ lawyers, who are challenging works’ minister Alfeus !Naruseb’s exemption of the expatriates.
The group promised legal action against the minister should the exemption not be revoked by next Thursday.
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