LOCATED about 50 kilometres from the Noordoewer border post between Namibia and South Africa, Aussenkehr has vast vineyards that stretch as far as the eye can see.
Surrounded by a semi-desert, the vineyards thrive only because of plentiful water from the Orange River, which forms a natural border between the two countries.
Set against the harsh, brown terrain, the verdant vineyards – which grow grapes that are harvested three to five weeks earlier than elsewhere – seem alien compared to southernmost Namibia's dry and harsh landscapes.
The highest average temperature at Aussenkehr is 34°C in January and the lowest is 20°C in June. The area gets an average annual 262mm of rain. The plump and juicy table grapes that grow in these vineyards are destined for European supermarkets in the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium, as well as South Africa, generating much-needed foreign currency for Namibia.
Last year, Namibia shipped out 33 million kilogrammes of table grapes, earning N$840 million. But the beauty of the grape farms hide a dark reality: the 16 000 farmworkers who care for the vines earn a pittance and live under deplorable conditions.
They live in a settlement of rudimentary reed and zinc structures two kilometres from the grape farms, and have endured decades without potable water and other basic services like electricity and sanitation facilities.
Their dry and dour settlement stands in stark contrast to the rows of bright green grapes.
HARD LIFE FOR FARMWORKERS
Linda Christian, (29), a farm worker at Silverland Riverside Farm, one of the Aussenkehr farms, told of the farm workers' harsh existence.
“I have been working here since 2011 as a seasonal worker,” she said. “We live in dwellings that have no proper structures. We do not have access to clean water, and there is no electricity. The farm companies bring water to permanent workers only, so for us to get water we have to go through the permanent employees,” Christian said.
Julian Swartbooi (36), also an employee at Silverland since 2019, added: “We go to the river to bathe, wash clothes and fetch water for cooking and drinking.”
They can access a very limited amount of clean water 300 metres away but there is “normally not enough for everyone.” Apart from a lack of clean water, Swartbooi says workers are paid “peanuts.”
“One of the challenges we face is lack of proper compensation,” he said.
“We do a lot of work and it is tough. We take leaves off [the vines], we tie the grapes, hang them out, count them, pack them for export and so on. We work from 07h30 until 17h00. For that we are paid N$2 800 a month.”
That amount barely buys enough food for a family for a month. In fact, the local Spar supermarket is run by the son of one of the farm owners, which means a significant portion of the meagre salaries of the workers goes back to the employer.
The settlement also has a small government clinic with only three nurses, a primary school and a shopping centre where farmworkers have access to basic services, including banking facilities, a cash loan operation and alcohol outlet.
Kevin Liddle of Silverlands Vineyards did not answer queries about the workers' low salaries.
The farmworkers' homes, are highly flammable. Once a fire has taken hold of one home, it spreads rapidly to neighbouring ones.
Given the health and safety risks, several workers on the vineyards want to quit their jobs.
Maria Ipinge (54) says she is among them, even though she is still six years from retirement age. Ipinge has been a farmworker since December 1999.
“I have been working here for a long time, and I have been living in these reed houses that look like they are falling apart,” she said. “There is no decent shelter here. I am retiring next year because of the water problem. “Sometimes water comes, sometimes it doesn't come at all. But when it comes, it's only once a week,” Ipinge said.
Once the delivered supplies of water are finished, residents can also turn to a small reservoir, which is topped up with water pumped from the river. But this comes with challenges, according to Ipinge. “There [in the reservoir] you find hair, used toilet paper and plastics,” she said.
Responding to questions about the workers' overall deplorable living conditions, the Namibian Grape Growers Association said it is not content with the living conditions of the employees in the informal settlement at Aussenkehr and acknowledged that the process to improve the workers' conditions has taken longer than expected.
The association says it is waiting for the government to complete basic infrastructure improvements first, but acknowledged that help is on the way.
“There are a number of projects that the growers are actively pursuing to improve the conditions. These include the construction of over 50 houses, addressing the drinking water challenges (over N$2,5 million already spent by commercial farmers and more planned) and the provision of support for the local government clinic and police station.”
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When water becomes deadly, help cannot come too soon. The lack of access to water has led to several deaths of farmworkers who have drowned in the river over the years.
Since 2006, the Aussenkehr Police Station has recorded 15 deaths of farmworkers who have drowned while swimming, fishing and accessing drinking water.
This includes an incident when four young girls drowned in December 2018, and another when a young boy drowned in May this year.
NEW HOPE OR FALSE DAWN?
The minister of agriculture, water and land reform, Calle Schlettwein, said plans are finally afoot to restore the farmworkers' dignity: “The industry, together with the government, has embarked on the development of a formal settlement.
The grape industry supplied the required land, and all 990 erven have been fully serviced. Clean water will be supplied by NamWater from the recently commissioned treatment plant, and NamPower has connected the settlement to the power grid.”
In fact, for the 2019/20 national budget, the ministry allocated a quarter of its budget to water infrastructure and potable water provision. The ministry received N$1,95 billion of the national budget in that financial year. Of that, N$494 852 000 was allocated to specific bulk water projects.
One of the government projects designed to increase water access is focused on the sharing of water from international rivers like the Orange River, including the joint construction of the Noordoewer/Vioolsdrift Dam with South Africa.
While the minister was quick to point to solutions such as these, many residents remain sceptical that the Namibian government will finally start taking their cries for help seriously.
In short, the farmworkers' issues are actually a part of a systemic problem. Schlettwein notes that the ministry will also roll out the flexible land tenure system in the settlement.
The flexible land tenure system is a concept to provide affordable security of tenure to inhabitants in informal settlements in Namibia.
Meanwhile, chairperson of the Namibian Grape Growers Association, Nico van der Merwe said that a local company would install 10 new water points for “safe water” by the end of November.”A further 10 water points are being installed by a commercial farmer, which means every resident will have access to clean water within 200 metres of their home. The rollout should be completed within the next two months.
“All the costs (more than N$2,5 million) of the project have so far been covered by commercial farmers,” the association said.
Andries Kok, NamWater's acting chief for water supply in the south, said that the //Kharas Regional Council had developed an initiative to service 7 000 erven/residential plots with complete water, electricity and sewer systems.
“NamWater embarked upon the construction of a purification plant to supply potable water to the Aussenkehr community, including the newly developed township,” Kok said.
“The project cost N$86 million and was commissioned during early 2020, when potable water became available,” Kok said.
Uanana Mbandjeue, a farm worker at Namibia Grapes Company, said he wished he could believe all these promises of water and infrastructure improvement. He says that the government “makes a lot of empty promises. Everytime our living conditions get media attention, they come up with solutions.
“The new development they keep talking about is something that we were told a long time ago. Is it for us or for our children? We will only believe what they say when it has happened,” Mbandjeue said.
