Africa-Press – Namibia. THE national petroleum company has given its employees until 19 November to get their first or second dose of the Covid-19 vaccine.
The head of the National Petroleum Corporation of Namibia (Namcor), Immanuel Mulunga, in an executive order dated 1 October, stated that the company shall reserve the right to protect its employees, therefore, employees should get vaccinated.
Mulunga told The Namibian that this is one of Namcor’s ways of encouraging the staff members to get vaccinated by a certain date and not an ultimatum.
“An ultimatum is when you threaten people with a specific action if they don’t do what is requested from them. We have not done so. It’s a non-threatening way of encouraging people to get vaccinated,” he explained.
He added that the company will take no action against employees who choose not to get vaccinated by 19 November. “We won’t do anything. We are just encouraging people to get vaccinated,” Mulunga said.
In the same breath, Mulunga said he hopes Namcor employees will do the right thing and get themselves vaccinated so that “no further action will be necessary”. He said they have tried several other initiatives to encourage the employees to get the jab.
“We have conducted internal marketing messages in the form of staff emails, posters and email banners encouraging vaccination. Employees were even granted a day of special leave that will not affect their overall leave days for vaccinations,” he added.
Namcor’s aim is to create a safe working environment and reach herd immunity against the virus, he said. This comes as other companies and industries such as transport and mining have started talks around mandatory vaccination.
Meanwhile, a group of 50 people yesterday afternoon marched to Zoo Park against mandatory vaccination in the military and at any other place where the government as well as the private sector want to implement it.
The group leader, Paulus Nakale, said if the government allows mandatory vaccination in the military, it will later on spread to the police, teachers and the private sector.
“We appeal to president Hage Geingob to stop mandatory vaccination in the military. This could mean that it will not be limited to offices, ministries and agencies as well as the private sector,” he said.
Two weeks ago, the chief of the defence force imposed mandatory vaccination on all members of the Namibian Defence Force. Nakale, however, believes that the vaccines are still at the experimental stage and could endanger lives.
All vaccines available in the country have gone through multiple trial phases with more than 10 000 participants and the results have been published in medical journals, including the Lancet and British medical journals.
Most of the vaccines were also approved by the World Health Organisation (WHO)’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunisation. Nakale said there are already people losing their jobs due to mandatory vaccination.
“This needs to stop now,” he added. The group demands that Geingob respond to their request to stop all mandatory vaccination policies by midday on 26 October. The health executive director, Ben Nangombe, received the petition yesterday.
