Coffins, morgues haunt NA

MORBID issues dominated the National Assembly this week as MPs resumed debate on a motion by DTA President Katuutire Kaura on providing coffins for marginalised San communities who cannot afford proper funerals.

CoD Member Elma Ndienda introduced a related topic – the dilapidated state of cemeteries in Namibia. DTA Vice President Philemon Moongo told the House of the sad case of a San family in Omaalala village in the North, where the corpse of a San-speaking person remained in the morgue for two years because the family could not afford to buy a coffin.When he found out about it, Moongo said, he approached the hospital and was told the deceased could not even be put into a plastic body bag, as they had to wait until there were more unclaimed bodies to be put together into one bag because the hospital had to use the bags sparingly.”I then bought a coffin and provided transport for the 17 San family members so that they could bury their deceased in a decent way,” Moongo told the House.He proposed that Government provide free coffins to every traditional authority for the poor, including the San.Health Minister Richard Kamwi rejected Kaura’s motion, and said he viewed it as a “deliberate opportunistic attempt to hijack the noble efforts” of Deputy Prime Minister Libertina Amathila, who was advancing the welfare of the San people.Minister Kamwi told the House that Government had never provided coffins as that was the responsibility of the families.However, the transport of a corpse was the responsibility of the referring hospital.”If a patient from Otjiwarongo is referred to the Windhoek central hospital and dies there, the hospital in Otjiwarongo must then arrange transport of the corpse back to that town, where the corpse shall be released to the family for burial,” Kamwi said.At this point Kaura interjected to claim that this hardly ever happened.”Are you sure the corpses are always taken back to the towns where they come from?” he wanted to know from the Health Minister.Kamwi was rescued by Agriculture Minister Nickey Iyambo, who previously held the health portfolio.”It could happen sometimes that relatives of deceased are ignorant about the transport arrangement of (State) hospitals and as a result don’t request to have the corpses transported back,” he elaborated.CoD President Ben Ulenga said that the Deputy Prime Minster had a “fine knack for publicity …and is a master of publicity”.CoD politician Nora Schimming-Chase wanted to know when the National Assembly would have an opportunity to hear about the good work of the Deputy Prime Minister, as no details had been made available yet about her projects for the San.”Last week an organisation took media representatives to rural areas, who reported in the papers about the abject poverty of the San,” Schimming-Chase told the House.Home Affairs Minister Rosalia Nghidinwa noted that many San were used as trackers and soldiers by the former South African apartheid regime and relocated to the Bravo settlement in Caprivi and just left there.”The Swapo Party Government looks after them and their children,” she said.Ulenga was quick to say that not only San were in the employ of the South African security forces.”There were Oshiwambo-speaking Namibians in Koevoet and the South African army as well,” he added, sparking murmurs of discontent from the ruling benches.At this point the only San Member of Parliament, Royal /Ui/o/oo, rose and supported what Ulenga had said.”Why is it always said that only the San people were members of Koevoet and the South African army before Independence? There were Herero and Oshiwambo speakers in these units as well!” Ui/o/oo emphasised.The debate was adjourned until next week.DTA Vice President Philemon Moongo told the House of the sad case of a San family in Omaalala village in the North, where the corpse of a San-speaking person remained in the morgue for two years because the family could not afford to buy a coffin.When he found out about it, Moongo said, he approached the hospital and was told the deceased could not even be put into a plastic body bag, as they had to wait until there were more unclaimed bodies to be put together into one bag because the hospital had to use the bags sparingly.”I then bought a coffin and provided transport for the 17 San family members so that they could bury their deceased in a decent way,” Moongo told the House.He proposed that Government provide free coffins to every traditional authority for the poor, including the San.Health Minister Richard Kamwi rejected Kaura’s motion, and said he viewed it as a “deliberate opportunistic attempt to hijack the noble efforts” of Deputy Prime Minister Libertina Amathila, who was advancing the welfare of the San people.Minister Kamwi told the House that Government had never provided coffins as that was the responsibility of the families.However, the transport of a corpse was the responsibility of the referring hospital.”If a patient from Otjiwarongo is referred to the Windhoek central hospital and dies there, the hospital in Otjiwarongo must then arrange transport of the corpse back to that town, where the corpse shall be released to the family for burial,” Kamwi said.At this point Kaura interjected to claim that this hardly ever happened.”Are you sure the corpses are always taken back to the towns where they come from?” he wanted to know from the Health Minister.Kamwi was rescued by Agriculture Minister Nickey Iyambo, who previously held the health portfolio.”It could happen sometimes that relatives of deceased are ignorant about the transport arrangement of (State) hospitals and as a result don’t request to have the corpses transported back,” he elaborated.CoD President Ben Ulenga said that the Deputy Prime Minster had a “fine knack for publicity …and is a master of publicity”.CoD politician Nora Schimming-Chase wanted to know when the National Assembly would have an opportunity to hear about the good work of the Deputy Prime Minister, as no details had been made available yet about her projects for the San.”Last week an organisation took media representatives to rural areas, who reported in the papers about the abject poverty of the San,” Schimming-Chase told the House.Home Affairs Minister Rosalia Nghidinwa noted that many San were used as trackers and soldiers by the former South African apartheid regime and relocated to the Bravo settlement in Caprivi and just left there.”The Swapo Party Government looks after them and their children,” she said.Ulenga was quick to say that not only San were in the employ of the South African security forces.”There were Oshiwambo-speaking Namibians in Koevoet and the South African army as well,” he added, sparking murmurs of discontent from the ruling benches.At this point the only San Member of Parliament, Royal /Ui/o/oo, rose and supported what Ulenga had said.”Why is it always said that only the San people were members of Koevoet and the South African army before Independence? There were Herero and Oshiwambo speakers in these units as well!” Ui/o/oo emphasised.The debate was adjourned until next week.