The Erongo Governor has called for the closure of the JTD Mining Group as the working environment is not conducive for employees and could pose a health hazard.

When the nbc News team arrived at the mine, they found local workers crowded into tiny rooms with one window.

However, their Chinese colleagues are living in proper accommodations, much better than their Namibian counterparts.

Governor Andre and his delegation of regional councillors, officials from the Ministry of Labour, union representatives, health inspectors, and law enforcement agencies were informed that employees were working long working hours with no personal protective equipment, lack of hygiene, non-compliance with labour laws, and insufficient food.
 
Neville André gave the company one month to improve the working environment.

"The condition here is very bad. People can die anytime soon, so we cannot allow our people to be exposed to danger like we are seeing today. Perhaps the recommendation should be that they must close! For the time being, but even when they are closed, the workers must be paid."
 
Arandis Constituency Councilor Benita Imbamba also condemned the exploitation of the workers.

"It must come to an end because there are a lot of problems that we are having in Erongo. This needs to be attended to, otherwise, the exploitation will not end. People need to see us like this, and we must take action to protect our people so that this changes."

The company's managing director, who only introduced himself as "Moon," assured the governor that they would rectify the problem in 10 days.

JTD Mining Group, a Chinese-owned company, is situated at Trekkopje Areva, 15 kilometres from Arandis.

The company has more than 60 employees, all living in the camp.