Entrepo Namibia retrenched 25 workers earlier this year and expects more job losses as it winds down after the government suspended its payroll deduction system.
The retrenchments, which were concluded by the end of July, emerged during a Employment Equity Commission (EEC) review panel hearing yesterday, where the company’s compliance with affirmative action legislation and its consultations with employee representatives came under scrutiny.
Entrepo representative Laurens Willers told the panel the company had been unable to issue new loans to government employees since September 2025, following the government’s announcement that it would discontinue the Payroll Deduction Management System (PDMS).
The system allowed approved lenders to deduct loan repayments directly from civil servants’ salaries, reducing the risk of missed payments.
The government on 28 August 2025 announced that discretionary deductions would be discontinued, with the system scheduled to close at the end of November last year.
The decision disrupted Entrepo’s business model, which relied heavily on salary deductions to recover loans and issue new credit.
In October 2025, The Namibian reported that government employees owed Entrepo N$2.2 billion at the end of the second quarter, citing a Namibia Financial Institutions Supervisory Authority report.
Willers yesterday said Entrepo had approached the High Court and obtained an order on 28 November 2025 directing the government to reopen the deduction system.
He said the company subsequently pursued further legal action after the order was allegedly not complied with.
According to Willers, the government was found in contempt of court in January. The specific court findings and their legal implications were not independently established during the review proceedings.
“The last loan was granted on 12 September 2025,” Willers said.
He told the panel the system had not been restored to a level that enabled Entrepo to operate effectively.
Willers said 24 employees were retrenched in the first round, following the closure of the company’s sales and regional offices from 15 June. A further employee, who had been on maternity leave during the initial retrenchments, was retrenched after returning to work, bringing the total to 25.
He said the Office of the Labour Commissioner had acknowledged that the company complied with the retrenchment procedures prescribed by the Labour Act.
Entrepo had faced uncertainty over its future while court proceedings were ongoing, making earlier consultations on its changing employment projections difficult, Willers said.
He said the company continued operating until July in an effort to sustain employees’ livelihoods despite the uncertain outlook.
“The only thing we do know is that it will close,” Willers said, adding that the timing would depend on the board’s decision.
He said further retrenchments were expected as the company gradually winds down its operations.
However, EEC chief review officer Geaven Mufalali said the proceedings were not about consultations relating to Entrepo’s closure or retrenchments, but whether the company had complied with section 24 of the Affirmative Action (Employment) Act.
Mufalali said employers must consult employee representatives when preparing, implementing or revising affirmative action plans and projections.
He also referred to Section 28, saying changes to approved plans and reporting requirements must follow the prescribed procedures.
The review therefore centred on whether Entrepo had properly consulted its employee representatives before revising its affirmative action figures, a separate issue from the retrenchments themselves.
EEC review panel member Carol Otto said Entrepo ought to have complied as the report submission duration was from 1 May 2025 to 30 April 2026.
Entrepo now awaits the EEC’s final decision by Friday as it wraps up its hearings, with nine employers which did not comply with the affirmative action plan.
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