Kavango West CRO calls for easier pension and social grant payouts

Kavango West Regional Council chief regional officer Matheus Singambwe has called for reforms to the pension and social grant payment system, including allowing beneficiaries to collect multiple grants in a single visit.

Singambwe made the remarks during NamPost’s regional stakeholder engagement on the implementation of the national social grant payment administration at Nkurenkuru on Friday.

Addressing challenges within the pension payment system, he said rigid payout rules and system “locking” often force beneficiaries to make repeated trips to collect their grants, increasing costs for elderly caregivers responsible for multiple beneficiaries.

Singambwe explained that in cases where a beneficiary receives an old-age pension while also collecting a child grant, the system sometimes processes only one payment at a time, requiring a second visit to collect the remaining grant.

“This results in unnecessary transport costs and inconvenience for beneficiaries,” he said.

Concerns were also raised about pensioners’ reluctance to use bank accounts due to bank charges and a lack of trust in keeping money outside of cash on hand.

NamPost spokesperson Joseph Teofelus says beneficiaries who qualify for multiple grants will be able to receive all payments at once at the counter on the designated payout date.

He adds that work is underway to introduce a government-backed digital social grant account with zero fees, aimed at giving beneficiaries greater flexibility in managing their funds.

According to Teofelus, the proposed account will allow beneficiaries to split a single month’s grant into multiple withdrawals over a three-month period to assist with budgeting.

“For now, beneficiaries can route payments to any commercial bank, including through NamPost smart accounts, with banks expected to offer basic accounts that include limited free transactions,” he says.

Kavango West Regional Council chairperson and councillor for the Nkurenkuru constituency Fillipus Tenga urges service institutions to work together to address the concerns raised by communities.

“We must acknowledge the issues people are mentioning here and fix them,” Tenga says, adding that communities should not be required to make repeated and costly trips to collect payments.

The engagement highlighted immediate solutions such as consolidated payouts and bank routing, while longer-term efforts continue to develop fee-free digital accounts aimed at reducing queues, travel costs and payment delays.

– Nampa

In an age of information overload, Sunrise is The Namibian’s morning briefing, delivered at 6h00 from Monday to Friday. It offers a curated rundown of the most important stories from the past 24 hours – occasionally with a light, witty touch. It’s an essential way to stay informed. Subscribe and join our newsletter community.