Pre-poll payout bonanza: Cabinet approves N$2 million for ‘struggle children’

CABINET has directed the Ministry of Finance to release N$2 million for the relocation of the Children of the Liberation Struggle, ‘while the employment and training of the children are in progress’.

This is set out in a press release by the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology yesterday.It said the relocation of the groups camping at the Swapo Party offices in Windhoek and Oshakati had been approved by Cabinet as early as May.It is understood that at a Cabinet Meeting on September 15, the Finance Ministry was instructed to release the N$2 million for this activity, as well as the address of their demands ‘in the context of the existing Government structures and programmes, i.e. the National Youth Service, while employment and training opportunities are being addressed’.The statement said that Berg Aukas, situated 20 km east of Grootfontein, was identified as the site for the relocation, after Okatope in the Oshikoto Region and Plessisplaas in the Omaheke Region were both found to be unsuitable because of limited accommodation, catering and ablution facilities.The relocation of the ‘children’ is to be spearheaded by the Office of the Prime Minister, in consultation with the Ministry of Youth, which heads the technical committee responsible for the group.But relocating the demonstrating groups and possibly other children of the struggle isn’t the preferred option of the Ministry of Youth or Cabinet, says Permanent Secretary Peingeondjabi Shipoh, who describes the relocation option as a ‘desperate move that nobody favours’.The demonstrating groups, which consist of over 200 ‘children’ in Windhoek and around 400 in Oshakati, have been camping at the Swapo offices since mid-April. When they descended on the party’s offices, they said they would remain there until they were given jobs, threatening the party with the words: ‘no jobs, no vote’.Their public demonstration, which began at the doorstep of the Ministry of Veterans’ Affairs, has lasted over a year now, at times requiring Police intervention to keep the situation calm.Shipoh told The Namibian that the ‘preferred option’ would be to have the ‘children’ return to their homes and be integrated with their families instead, adding that integrating them with their families would also be in the interests of the ‘children’, some of whom are pregnant, lactating mothers, or sick.He said those willing to go back to their families would be assisted, adding that the allocated money would also be used to feed (‘but not to clothe’) the ‘children’ at home and at Berg Aukas.Many members of the demonstrating groups have claimed that they have no family to return to and nowhere to go, he said, adding that the Ministry would engage all the ‘children’ individually to determine the best course of action.When The Namibian contacted the spokesperson for the demonstrating youth at the Swapo headquarters in Windhoek, Salomo Shinedima, he said the group had only heard rumours about being relocated, and was still ‘waiting for official information’ from the Ministry. He added, however, that they had heard about the N$2 million allocation on the news.Asked what the relocated group would be doing while stationed at Berg Aukas, Shipoh said that plans to keep them busy were being looked into, such as having them involved in bush clearing under the auspices of the Ministry of Agriculture, having classes to improve their points in order to qualify for other educational, training or employment opportunities, or keeping them engaged in other youth service activities.Shipoh also said that some employment opportunities have already been created for some of the youth, but (re)emphasised that ‘patience is key’, as the needs of all the 10 106 registered and more children of the struggle can not be addressed in a short space of time.The most recent openings were for 29 ‘workhands’ at six parks under the Ministry of Environment and Tourism, with the names of the selected youth having been announced in a local daily.Others have included five positions with the Ministry of Mines and Energy, and five with the Office of the President – for which only two ‘children’ qualified, and the training of 1 044 children of the Namibia Defence Force. The National Youth Service, under the Ministry of Youth, is also in the process of selecting 100 members of the group, while the Ministry of Safety and Security and NamPower are each sponsoring five scholarships.In March, the technical committee said that Government should brace itself to spend anywhere between N$280 million and N$300 million to respond to the ‘children’s’ demands for education, training and employment.It is unclear at this point how much money Government is spending through its various line Ministries, which have been asked to make room in their budgets for the employment or education of the struggle youth.nangula@namibian.com.na