Seibeb wants census workers protected

Landless People’s Movement (LPM) deputy leader Henny Seibeb has called for the protection of census enumerators, saying they are being harassed by people for simply doing their job.

He said this in parliament on Tuesday while posing questions to the minister in the office of the Presidency on steps to be taken to protect census workers.

This comes after videos have been circulated on social media of census workers being insulted and chased away, and of people refusing to be counted.

A video of some commercial farmers harassing census workers and refusing them entry to their farm, which emerged over the weekend, are among these.

“I want to know from the relevant minister: What measures can we take to protect the census workers?” Seibeb said.

He asked the minister of defence and veteran affairs, Frans Kapofi, whether he could allow Namibian Defence Force soldiers to accompany enumerators.

“I think some farmers and Namibians are doing it deliberately . . . Where do they get such attitudes?” Seibeb asked.

“Young women and men being harassed. How can we protect them? I think the police could assist as well,” he said.

Kapofi said the poor treatment of enumerators should not be tolerated.

“It reminds us of the unfortunate past that we lived in,” he said.

Kapofi said he does not think the situation warrants the deployment of military troops yet.

He however, encouraged parliamentarians to ask Namibians to be reasonable.

Minister of home affairs, immigration, safety and security Albert Kawana said: “These people want to push us back to historical experiences our forefathers and some of us went through . . . It is annoying.”

Kawana said under the Statistics Act, people who refuse to be counted are committing a crime.

“Therefore a criminal case must be registered against them and the police will be involved. Once one is found guilty by a court of law, they will be our guests in our facilities,” the minister said.

The Namibia Agricultural Union (NAU) has condemned any form of harassment and non-collaboration with census enumerators, particularly on farms.

NAU spokesperson Tanja Dahl on Tuesday said the organisation urges members to cooperate with enumerators and to report any incidents of harassment as a matter of urgency.

Commenting on the issue, NSA spokesperson Iipumbu Sakaria said the agency was aware of incidents, which mostly take place at remote farms and high-end residential areas.

He, however, described the cases as isolated and not indicative of the majority of people.

Most households are playing their part in being counted, he said.

Sakaria said the agency was engaging the relevant people and their umbrella bodies to educate the public on the aims of the census.

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In August, The Namibian reported that statistician general Alex Shimuafeni said the agency is empowered by law to carry out the census and warned those who do not cooperate that they could face a N$50 000 penalty.

Last week The Namibian reported that census enumerators have allegedly become the victims of physical attacks and harassment while collecting data.

NSA enumerator Thiggipo Haihambo (33) shared that he was attacked by a group of five men at Oshakati West in the Oshana region last week Wednesday.

Oshana regional police commissioner Teophilus Kamati has confirmed the incident.

“The suspects are unknown, and no arrests have been made,” he said.

The driver of a census team, who prefers to remain anonymous, has told The Namibian his team was chased away by a farm owner in the Okahandja vicinity last Monday.

“We vacated the farm because he chased us, and it was not a good experience,” he said.

NSA statistician general Alex Shimuafeni last week confirmed that an enumerator was assaulted in the Oshana region.

“It is unfortunate that he was assaulted, however, he didn’t inform his supervisor that he was going to collect data at night,” he said.

Shimuafeni said arrangements would have been made for the rest of the team or the police to accompany the enumerator – especially to crime hotspots.