An employee at the Office of the Prime Minister, Lolo Goraseb, stood in chains as he conducted a lone demonstration following the failure of the office to honour all remedies spelt out in his reinstatement order by the Labour Commissioner. 

Goraseb was dismissed in 2017 for absenteeism while he was representing the country on national duties.

Goraseb, who is also a former Brave Warriors footballer, serves on various international bodies representing Namibia and regularly attends international conferences in this capacity.

It was in 2017 when he attended an international conference that he received a summarily firing letter for absenteeism.

According to him, the supervisors were aware of his absence, as he applied for leave before travelling. 

Goraseb said that upon his dismissal, he discovered that the supervisor was just filing his leave applications without approving them and passing them on to the human resources office.

He was fired without a hearing, as, according to his supervisors, he absented himself for more than a month without notification, which is a dismissible offence in the public service. 

He had raised several other issues encountered and flowing out of his dismissal and fight for reinstatement. 

Goraseb also accused the executive leadership at the Office of the Prime Minister of failing in their duties.

He was dismissed in 2017 for alleged abscondment but was found not guilty by the Office of the Labour Commissioner in 2023, which ordered his reinstatement.

The OPM was directed to reimburse him for loss of income, but to date, this has not happened, he claims.

I-Ben Nashandi, who is the accounting officer at the Prime Minister's Office, responded by stating that all aggrieved employees know the proper channels to follow if they have grievances.

However, Goraseb shared the last communication he had with Nashandi, which said that he should no longer communicate with him and erase the Executive Director's number from his phone.

Goraseb also claims to have engaged the Public Service Commission to intervene in his matter and provided a detailed explanation of all the incidents and what he alleged was an entire office conspiring to get rid of him.

The response, he said, from the Public Service Commission was to list individually his grievances, which he said were detailed in the dossier he submitted.

After his reinstatement, Goraseb is still seeking compensation for his five-year loss of income and a possible transfer to the Namibian Sports Commission, which was in the works before his dismissal. 

Lastly, he demanded action and criticised the current positioning of the Public Service Commission under the Office of the Prime Minister, arguing that it compromises the commission's ability to function impartially.

He says that to provide services effectively and efficiently, the commission is supposed to be an independent agency that handles public service management issues without interference or influence from the Office of the Prime Minister.