Allexer Namundjembo
Former Air Namibia employees are calling on the government to include them in the development and operation of the new national airline.
The airline is expected to launch by December 2026.
According to reports from last month, the government has allocated N$20 million for a feasibility study on the revival of Air Namibia.
Member of Parliament and former Air Namibia employee Vaino Tuhafeni raised the issue in Parliament.
He said many ex-workers remain unpaid and excluded years after the airline’s liquidation.
“I spoke to a former colleague this morning, a single mother, who sounded hopeless and dejected. She specifically asked me to request Veico Nekundi to intervene. We still have severance and pension money owed to us, and we are yet to receive justice,” Tuhafeni said.
Tuhafeni said former staff have valuable experience and should be considered first for jobs in the new airline.
“We are the only Namibians with practical experience in running a national airline. Will we be part of the process? We demand to be the first considered for employment in the new national airline,” he said.
He blamed the fall of Air Namibia on poor leadership.
“Air Namibia was crashed by poor managerial decisions made by a jobs-for-comrades cabal, not the ordinary staff,” he said.
Air Namibia was officially liquidated in March 2021 after the Cabinet approved its closure in February of that year.
The government cited unsustainable losses and debts of over N$3 billion.
The decision left more than 600 employees jobless, many with decades of experience.
The government had promised to pay severance packages and outstanding benefits in phases.
But delays by the liquidators and what former workers call a lack of urgency have caused long-term hardship. Many say they have received no full payout.
Tuhafeni called on the Ministry of Public Enterprises and the relevant parliamentary committee to act. He said delays have cost lives.
“The liquidators are playing games. People are dying waiting for what is owed to them,” he said.
In 2024, a group of former employees protested in Windhoek, demanding full severance payments.
The group’s spokesperson, Renier Bougard, who worked at the airline for 23 years, said the liquidators are delaying payments agreed to under oath.
“Approximately 10 former employees died during this period, some by suicide and other causes of death,” Bougard said. “We want the liquidators to pay the rest of the money, or we want the government to intervene to pay the money.”
Another former employee, John Sakaria, also with 23 years at the company, said the delays are unacceptable.
“We want what we signed for,” he said.
According to the Swapo Implementation Plan, an estimated N$3 billion will be needed over the next five years to support the revival of Air Namibia.
The plan looks at restoring Air Namibia by boosting tourism by enabling direct international flights, which would generate foreign exchange and create employment opportunities, approximately 700 direct and 500 indirect jobs.
By August 2025, a call for expressions of interest in a public-private partnership is expected to be released.
