‘Struggle kids’ on the march again

‘CHILDREN of the liberation struggle’, upset that they haven’t all been recruited into the Defence Force, plan to march on the Swapo headquarters in Katutura today.

According to information gathered by The Namibian, a list of about 130 names of registered ‘struggle children’ recruited by the NDF has been released.Only 22 of the 98 people among a group camping at a Swapo farm 15 km outside Windhoek appear on the list.The others are irate about not being recruited despite having their names forwarded to the Ministry of Defence.The group, which has been camping at the farm for over five months, say they will march to Ondangwa, where the NDF recruitment is taking place, after saying their ‘goodbyes’ at the Swapo HQ.The group was moved to the farm by the Swapo Party Youth League (SPYL) in November last year in order to avoid their arrest after they flouted a High Court eviction order against them, after an 80-day protest in front of the Ministry of Veterans’ Affairs offices where they demanded employment, training and education.When The Namibian spoke to Salomo Shinedima – the group’s spokesperson – last night, they were packing up their belongings to begin their trek to Windhoek.’Twenty-two members of our group were on the [NDF] list, but these were not from the list that we gave them,’ said Shinedima, adding that ‘we were told that we’d be the first to benefit’.Asked how a march to the Swapo headquarters would solve their plight, Shinedima responded: ‘We are going to the people who brought us to the farm. We are busy packing up and leaving this evening (last night).’Elijah Ngurare, Secretary of the SPYL, said he couldn’t say whether a march to the head office would necessarily change anything for the group. He acknowledged, however, that the group had communicated their frustrations to him.Dr Peingeondjabi Shipoh, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Youth, which heads the technical committee addressing the registration of people born in exile, yesterday said it is irrational to expect that all of the more than 9 000 registered ‘struggle children’ would receive jobs and training opportunities at the same time.’It is the prerogative of the Ministry of Defence, through the Defence Act, to recruit members of the Defence Force and to decide how many they are able to take, based also on their requirements as well as the funding at their disposal,’ said Shipoh.He added that none of the Ministries has been provided with a special budget for recruiting ‘struggle children’. He said the various Ministries would recruit people based on their skills requirements. ‘It is important to understand that recruitment processes are systematic, and that requirements have to be met. For example, someone with Grade 7 can’t be expected to be the first to be recruited if the minimum requirement is Grade 9,’ he said.’If some were not taken up into the Defence Force, they might be taken up elsewhere where the qualifications are different. They shouldn’t be expected to be recruited for anything that they don’t qualify for. That is why we are also trying to look into further training and education opportunities.’