Govt to register children of war vets this month

GOVERNMENT will start registering children of war veterans in all 13 regions on October 27.

Officials of the Ministry of Home Affairs and Immigration will be present at the registration points to issue national documents to those not in possession of such papers. This was announced by the Minister of Youth, Willem Konjore at a press conference in Windhoek on Friday.The ministry is responsible for dealing with the children of war veterans, although the group does not want to be dealt with by the ministry.They would prefer their plight to be addressed by the Ministry of Veterans’ Affairs.The group has been camping outside the offices of the Ministry of Veterans’ Affairs for more than a month, refusing to return to their respective regions, despite an appeal by Government to do so.Konjore stated that Government had long been exploring solutions to “durable and sustainable interventions in this regard”, through the joint ministerial committee constituting the Ministries of Youth, Veterans’ Affairs, Safety and Security, Home Affairs and Immigration, Gender Equality and Child Welfare, Defence and the Swapo Party.He explained that the committee had been mandated to “define and delimit the definition of ‘children of the liberation struggle’,” and that the working definition in this context is: “Children of the Liberation Struggle are children of the veterans as defined in the Veterans Act, Act no 2 of 2008, inclusive of exiled children who until March 21, 1990 were under the age of 18 years.”Asked whether the education, training and employment initiatives that would be embarked upon after the registration process amounted to preferential treatment for people falling into the said definition, Konjore said Government did not ascribe to preferential treatment, and would ensure that the solution found would avoid such perceptions.Confident of a positive outcome, Konjore further appealed “to the public and in particular the concerned group to remain calm, supportive and confident to ensure effective, accurate and responsive interventions”, stressing that the implementation of action towards their demands could only be carried after the completion of the registration process.The leaders of the ‘children of the liberation struggle’ demonstrating at the Ministry of Veterans’ Affairs are still to be met to discuss these resolutions, and Konjore is appealing to them to return to their respective regions.Last week, they were adamant that they would not be moved until their demands had been fully met.This was announced by the Minister of Youth, Willem Konjore at a press conference in Windhoek on Friday.The ministry is responsible for dealing with the children of war veterans, although the group does not want to be dealt with by the ministry.They would prefer their plight to be addressed by the Ministry of Veterans’ Affairs.The group has been camping outside the offices of the Ministry of Veterans’ Affairs for more than a month, refusing to return to their respective regions, despite an appeal by Government to do so.Konjore stated that Government had long been exploring solutions to “durable and sustainable interventions in this regard”, through the joint ministerial committee constituting the Ministries of Youth, Veterans’ Affairs, Safety and Security, Home Affairs and Immigration, Gender Equality and Child Welfare, Defence and the Swapo Party.He explained that the committee had been mandated to “define and delimit the definition of ‘children of the liberation struggle’,” and that the working definition in this context is: “Children of the Liberation Struggle are children of the veterans as defined in the Veterans Act, Act no 2 of 2008, inclusive of exiled children who until March 21, 1990 were under the age of 18 years.”Asked whether the education, training and employment initiatives that would be embarked upon after the registration process amounted to preferential treatment for people falling into the said definition, Konjore said Government did not ascribe to preferential treatment, and would ensure that the solution found would avoid such perceptions.Confident of a positive outcome, Konjore further appealed “to the public and in particular the concerned group to remain calm, supportive and confident to ensure effective, accurate and responsive interventions”, stressing that the implementation of action towards their demands could only be carried after the completion of the registration process.The leaders of the ‘children of the liberation struggle’ demonstrating at the Ministry of Veterans’ Affairs are still to be met to discuss these resolutions, and Konjore is appealing to them to return to their respective regions.Last week, they were adamant that they would not be moved until their demands had been fully met.