NEF-Präsident Rukoro kritisiert Arbeitsgesetz und Simbabwe

Honourable Minister of Labour & Social Welfare, Mr. Immanuel Ngatjizeko, Chairperson of the NEF, Board and members of the NEF, Invited guests
Members of the Media, Ladies & Gentlemen;

It gives me great pleasure to present to you my report for the year ending December 2007, being the first year of my Presidency of this Federation.

I firstly wish to welcome you, Honourable Minister to your new position as our Line Minister, and to express the hope that we will soon have an opportunity to make a courtesy call on you.

Overview of the economy
 
The past year has seen some radical changes in the economy of Namibia, some good and beneficial in the short and long term, while unfortunately some will have negative effects.

The international boom in commodity prices has given our mining industry a positive push in the right direction, especially with respect to Uranium. Namibia should take advantage of this bonanza, using it to finance capital projects for the long-term benefit of the country, and to reduce some of the national debt.

Tourism has also shown positive growth between 7% and 10%, year on year. It is essential that we as a nation nurture this industry and take care not to spoil this golden goose by allowing service levels to drop. In addition it is important that the industry sets its own standards with respect to sustainable care of the environment in order to ensure that we can sell tomorrow what we sell today, undamaged and unpolluted.

“Urgent attention to Investor Road Map”
 
Unfortunately it appears as if the benefits noted above are insufficient to reduce the levels of poverty in the country. The rising cost of living, (inflation at almost 7% at the end of the year) meant that the disposable income of the lower income groups is constantly being eroded, and it therefore becomes imperative that an environment more conducive to attracting FDI and local expansion of business be created. I appeal to the Ministries concerned to give serious and urgent attention to the Investor Road Map, which was released in 2006. The workshop held in Rundu in November that year, addressed and highlighted problems and recommended mutual solutions. These should be implemented without delay.

While on this subject I must add that when it comes to future FDI we must all look carefully at the credentials of potential investors to ensure that we do not have a repeat of the Ramatex scenario. Further, we look forward to, and support, the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare in its plans to upgrade its inspection capacity to ensure that foreign investors comply with all Namibian Labour Legislation and are not allowed to abuse the rights of our workers. In this regard Government agencies must stop turning a blind eye to the suffering and exploitation of Namibian workers at the hands of politically well connected foreign employers, while similar conduct would not be tolerated even for a day if perpetrated by a local company!

I must also point-out that the constant increase in the size of the Public service is not conducive to making the Country a preferred destination for investors. The Civil Service needs to be made more effective and the size severely restricted. It must also be held accountable in terms of efficient service delivery and dead wood must be kicked out!

I pose a rhetorical question: How can we even consider being more competitive if our tax rate is 7% above that of our neighbour who anyway has a better developed economy and infrastructure? How do we implore our private sector to create more jobs if we do not incentivise them with lower tax rates as our neighbours are doing?

Labour relations
 
During 2007, there were relatively speaking a low number of serious industrial disputes. However in bids to remain economically viable and competitive, several companies had to go through evaluations of their workforce and in many instances this led to reductions in the numbers of workers at all levels. This is a sad fact, but indicative of the struggle for survival in this country bearing in mind the influence of South Africa on our economy. Early in 2008, the ILO carried-out a mini survey on labour relations in Namibia during the previous year. The result from 55 respondent employers was sadly that 33 felt that labour relations had worsened during that twelve months.

The NEF is ready to join forces with our tripartite partners, Government and workers to work on strategies and plans to reverse this trend.

I do not wish to dwell on the 2007 labour Act, sufficient has been said about this during the year. Suffice to say that the NEF still has serious misgivings regarding the effects of this Act on job creation and attracting decent investment. Notwithstanding these misgivings, the NEF is committed to working with the Ministry to assist with smooth implementation and looks forward to the new approach to dispute prevention and resolution being implemented.

Education and productivity
 
One of the biggest stumbling blocks to creating more jobs in Namibia is the poor levels of basic and secondary education, and the urgent need to develop our vocational training capacity. The NEF is supporting the actions of Government in these areas and is nominating representatives to serve on the shortly to be established NTA Board.

In addition the NEF is committed to supporting Government in the establishment of a Productivity Centre, but we need to understand that such a Centre is not, in itself, the answer to productivity, but simply a tool to assist in the changing of work ethics and attitudes at all levels throughout the country.

Honourable Minister, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Before I close I wish to acknowledge with sincere thanks the work of the Board Members and the Executive Committee who give freely of their time to further the work of the Federation. I shall fail in my duty if I do not pay special tribute to our hard working Secretary General, Mr Tim Parkhouse, for his continued dedication and passion to the mission of the NEF. Without your presence in that office the NEF will be so much poorer.

Finally, I wish to give the undertaking to Government that the NEF is here to assist in the development of the Namibian economy, to improve labour relations and to encourage job creation in line with the national Vision 2030. In this regard, it is my view that the attainment of Vision 2030 is so critical to Namibia’s economic growth that the President should seriously consider to create a Directorate in the Office of the President, headed by a Director, specifically charged with the task of coordinating and driving the implementation of this national vision. The NEF stands ready to play its part as a partner in development.

I thank you for your attention.

The situation in Zimbabwe
 
Ladies and gentlemen,

In a normal year and under normal circumstances I would have concluded my President’s Report on this note.

But as we all know these are not normal times, and therefore, it cannot be business as usual. As far as I am concerned, it is very much business unusual.

A few years ago, the President of SA and the President of Senegal were mandated by other African Heads of State and Government to drive a project which culminated in the creation of NEPAD – the New Partnership for African Development. Our leaders then announced to the world and to the African people that they have decided to break away from the old ways of doing things in Africa, that the economic and social development of Africa and its peoples was no longer the business and prerogative of politicians alone, but that it needed to be a partnership between political and business leaders; that real and lasting development cannot take place in the absence of a democratic political dispensation based on the will of the people expressed freely. The cherry on the top was even a voluntary “Peer Review” mechanism to entrench the new principles of transparency and democracy.

Now, in the light of what has been happening in Zimbabwe over the last few years, and more so, over the last two weeks, the question needs to be asked: where the hell are the business leaders of SADC and the continent who committed themselves to NEPAD? Even more important: where the hell are the political leaders of SADC and the AU who beg Western countries for donations to implement NEPAD when the very principles of NEPAD, democratic governance, rule of law, poverty alleviation and independence of electoral commissions are being raped in front of their very eyes? What is their reaction? “There is no crisis in Zimbabwe.”

Business and the private sector in general, must stop fooling itself. There is no such thing as business this side and politics that side. Just like the business of SA business enterprises during the apartheid era was to finance the apartheid infrastructure, i.e. politics, until they decided to pull the rug from under De Klerk’s feet, i.e. politics, and thereby paved the way for a democratic SA, so, too, the time has come, for business people in SADC to stop being accomplices to the rape, massacres and other forms of brutalities being meted out against innocent Zimbabweans by a regime that has lost all legitimacy, and whose only authority to govern derives from military power and solidarity by fellow ruling party elites in the region.

“We have failed the democratic exercise”
 
How do we attract FDI to Africa as a region, which presupposes stability based on democracy and rule of law, when we as a continent and region, both at the political and business levels, aid and abet dictatorship and abuse of political office? Shame on us, Africa! We have really failed our continent and our people. We have truly failed the democratic exercise. Based on the Zimbabwean experience, democracy for SADC leaders no longer means: Government of the people, by the people for the people; No, for them it means, Government of the Ruling Party elite, by the Ruling Party elite, for the Ruling Party elite.

In conclusion, in my capacity as President of the NEF, I shall very shortly be writing to the President of BUSA, as well as to various employer organisations in the region and beyond, including the Namibia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NCCI) - which is the organised voice of Business Namibia, raising this very issue with them, and imploring them to exercise their leadership responsibilities beyond the narrow interest of the profit consideration of their shareholders.

Remember, today, it is Zimbabwe’s private sector and citizens who are under siege, tomorrow it’s anyone’s guess…