The Chinese are back!

[Michael Alexander]

 

Well the Chinese builders are back, I believe that the State is busy constructing more GOV houses down on 1st avenue. Funny how they continue to use Chinese builders as opposed to locals, although I was led to believe that Namibian workers do not have the same productivity levels as our Yellow Brethren.....

Now the funny part about these new houses...... the old ones they built 4 years back are still not fully occupied..... and looking a bit run down..... Why on earth would our Democratically elected Gov want to build more houses in a town with more than 200 currently empty homes, after all theoretically speaking the Gov does already own 50% of these homes....

Why are they building more state homes, is there something we should know?

[SandyB]

The burning question  Michael .. you are required to employ   according  to their  rules   ie locals  and  according to demographics   even if they not  necessarily up to scratch  and go through a lot of crap   trying to get them to come to the party of  service delivery  ...  how  can govt get away with employing  uitlanders ????

[Michael Alexander]

Sandy, this is a major issue here in namibia, especially in Namibia, the gov seems to overlook rules and regulations when it comes to the Chinese in Namibia, in WHK a lot of local builders are bitchin' as the chinese builders do not adhere to any safety rules or BEE regulations and yet they get gov tenders, there can only be backhanders going on here..... a lot of the locals in the North are also complaining as the chinese are everywhere and are selling fake, cheap products and are killing the indigenous people's trade, yet when they complain to gov about this.... not a single thing gets done, but lo and behold if it had been a South African or German citizen doing these actions....

[toonfandangl]

                       
                          Should the world be really worried?

                       2007 was the Chinese year of the Chicken - Bird Flu.

                       2008  was the Chinese year of the Horse - Australia had Equine Flu.

                       2009  was the Chinese year of the  Pig - Swine Flu.

                       2010    is the year of the COCK!!!!!!


                                                                                           

[Andrew Darné]

The new housing in 1st Ave is for the staff at the Natis offices (national traffic authority..). The new Natis offices are being built behind the domestic hostels opposite the Cinema Gym or Zakaria Lewala hall as it is now called in West.
Apparently the state has ordered that in every town in Namibia Natis has to have its own office building and accomodation and not rented.

Rent: going for gold we have a member of MME who was residing at one of the recently built Gov houses Mike mentioned in 1st Ave and now all of a sudden resides in a 4 bedroomed Namdeb house... uhhm what gives? Who's paying for the rent that OTMCo would be asking for that house?

Chinese: how is Namibia Gov doing with their trade relations with China? Are they trying to win the Chinese over  by employing their "refugees" (for lack of a better word) to establish stronger ties or seek favouritism.
The Chinese who built the previous or first batch of state houses were apparently convicts or illegal immigrants and had to serve time doing labour before being deported. My FIL was talking to one of them during a visit here at the time those houses were built.

Labour: The bum part about is that the Chinese will work like dogs for a fraction of the pay. The locals need their hands held just to get them started; turn your back and they're taking another tea break...
In 1st Avenue it looks like the China is the one with the building plans on his lap, the labourers digging the foundations look like locals.

@ Mike... valid point about who they are and what if you were RSA or German?