Govt blames paltry pensions on ‘many competing demands’

RULING party members had to pull out all the stops yesterday to defend remarks made by Gender Equality and Child Welfare Minister Marlene Mungunda that senior citizens were grateful for the paltry pension they received from Government.

Congress of Democrats (CoD) Vice President Nora Schimming-Chase caused ructions in the National Assembly when she told the ruling party that they were not doing senior citizens any favours by granting them a pension guaranteed by the supreme law of the country. She challenged them to admit publicly that the monthly amount of N$300 was insufficient to lead a decent life.Schimming-Chase took particular issue with remarks made by Mungunda last week on a motion by the DTA that pensions be increased to N$500.She said by saying that senior citizens were in fact receiving a “grant” and not a “pension”, Mungunda was contradicting the Constitution, which stipulates that they must receive an adequate pension.Mungunda was not present in the House yesterday.Schimming-Chase said Government should focus less on patting themselves on the back for being one of only a handful of countries in Africa to provide pensions for senior citizens, and turn their attention to meeting their commitment to the Constitution on this score.Attorney General Pendukeni Iivula-Ithana was of the opinion that Government could be lauded for being one of only a few countries in Africa to offer its senior citizens a pension.”The time has come to state unequivocally what is a decent standard of living.Why do we allow CEOs to earn millions? What standard of living do we approve for some at the expense of others? An obscene standard of living not a decent one,” said a fired-up Schimming-Chase.Prime Minister Nahas Angula however contended that the argument had to be put in perspective and that Government was faced with many competing demands and vulnerable groups it had to care for.”These competing demands have to seen in the context of economic growth.Some of us as we sit here are so unproductive, we don’t add anything, we just want to consume.Who is going to produce and grow the economy?” said Angula.”It is true that old people are living on the edge.It is not that the political will is not there, it’s a question of competing demands”.Angula mentioned unemployed youths, the vulnerable San communities and those who needed treatment for HIV-AIDS as among those who were competing with pensioners for Government support.Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Theopolina Mushelenga and Deputy Speaker Doreen Sioka also jumped to Mungunda’s defence, saying Government never said what it was offering in pension was “enough”.”There are senior citizens who appreciate and are thankful for the efforts of Government.But there is no full stop to the N$300.We would like to see them get more.We know it’s not yet enough,” said Mushelenga.Retorted Schimming-Chase: “Senior citizens that we speak to are not grateful for their pittance, they have no choice.”She also shot down remarks from the ruling party benches that it was doing more for pensioners than the apartheid government had, saying that in real terms, a N$300 pension was now worth less than the pensions paid before Independence.She challenged them to admit publicly that the monthly amount of N$300 was insufficient to lead a decent life.Schimming-Chase took particular issue with remarks made by Mungunda last week on a motion by the DTA that pensions be increased to N$500.She said by saying that senior citizens were in fact receiving a “grant” and not a “pension”, Mungunda was contradicting the Constitution, which stipulates that they must receive an adequate pension.Mungunda was not present in the House yesterday.Schimming-Chase said Government should focus less on patting themselves on the back for being one of only a handful of countries in Africa to provide pensions for senior citizens, and turn their attention to meeting their commitment to the Constitution on this score.Attorney General Pendukeni Iivula-Ithana was of the opinion that Government could be lauded for being one of only a few countries in Africa to offer its senior citizens a pension.”The time has come to state unequivocally what is a decent standard of living.Why do we allow CEOs to earn millions? What standard of living do we approve for some at the expense of others? An obscene standard of living not a decent one,” said a fired-up Schimming-Chase.Prime Minister Nahas Angula however contended that the argument had to be put in perspective and that Government was faced with many competing demands and vulnerable groups it had to care for.”These competing demands have to seen in the context of economic growth.Some of us as we sit here are so unproductive, we don’t add anything, we just want to consume.Who is going to produce and grow the economy?” said Angula.”It is true that old people are living on the edge.It is not that the political will is not there, it’s a question of competing demands”.Angula mentioned unemployed youths, the vulnerable San communities and those who needed treatment for HIV-AIDS as among those who were competing with pensioners for Government support.Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Theopolina Mushelenga and Deputy Speaker Doreen Sioka also jumped to Mungunda’s defence, saying Government never said what it was offering in pension was “enough”.”There are senior citizens who appreciate and are thankful for the efforts of Government.But there is no full stop to the N$300.We would like to see them get more.We know it’s not yet enough,” said Mushelenga.Retorted Schimming-Chase: “Senior citizens that we speak to are not grateful for their pittance, they have no choice.”She also shot down remarks from the ruling party benches that it was doing more for pensioners than the apartheid government had, saying that in real terms, a N$300 pension was now worth less than the pensions paid before Independence.