Namibia’s parliamentarians need to seriously take to heart the plight of our elderly and our veterans.
Former president Hage Geingob said he would increase pension grants to N$3 000.
It was a commitment to our elderly citizens. It was welcomed as a covenant of hope between him and the nation’s elders who suffer from abject poverty in a land of plenty.
Geingob’s passion and support for vulnerable elders is betrayed by the proposed budget under discussion – their pension was increased by N$100.
It amounts to mockery and disrespect for those vulnerable citizens
What is N$100? A tip for a waiter given by wealthy citizens at expensive hotels and restaurants in Namibia, or, for some, their children’s daily pocket money. Or small change for government officials during overseas trips.
PERKS AND PLEAS
For many households, the N$1 600 pension is their main source of income; it supports grandchildren and unemployed relatives who, often despite abject poverty in their households, remain active in bed.
Some of our parliamentarians are asking the state to increase their salaries and perks, as well as their travelling allowances, despite receiving monthly salaries estimated at N$70 000 while the elderly are left with less than N$1 700 a month.
In submitting this plea to our respected members of parliament (MPs), I want them to explore bi-partisanship as pensions are a matter of national interest and not the preserve of politicians who may want to score cheap political points.
The other disrespect towards the citizenry is that there is no specific date of payment rather than a day (the first Tuesday of the month).
Tuesday can be the first, second, fourth, or even seventh day in a specific month.
In a caring and civilised society, you set a calendar date, not a day, to pay people.
During the election campaign, several candidates promised to submit a motion in parliament to have a specific date of payment set for elders as happens with veterans (who are paid on the 20th of every month).
As soon as our esteemed MPs entered the front door of parliament, their pledge went out the back door.
The debate around the budget did not take this matter seriously: they agreed that N$1 700 for pensioners was enough while they want their perks increased.
Oh God, cry my beloved country!
JUSTIFICATION
On 26 August, the country will mark 60 years since the brave martyrs of this country fired their first bullets at Ongulumbashe to launch the armed liberation struggle.
It is against this background that the veterans’ pension is N$2 200 a month despite their blood watering our freedom.
Namibian MPs did not approve, let alone seriously consider, an increase in their pension in the recent budget despite many justifications.
A not inconsiderable number of veterans are living and dying in abject poverty without complaining or organising demonstrations to demand justice. This is because of their love for their motherland and sense of patriotism.
In my judgement, more than 40% of the original list of registered veterans is no longer alive, thus reducing their liability on the government budget.
Further, some veterans are still waiting for their projects to be funded.
If all this is taken into account, and for many other reasons, the ministry’s budget should be supported.
To those parliamentarians who rejected the motion, listen to every word of our national anthem to understand why our veterans must be respected, honoured and properly rewarded – as a minimum token of appreciation – for their bravery during the harsh days of our resistance and demand for the independence that we all enjoy today.
I recommend that the ministry responsible conduct a Tracer Study of veterans to determine their livelihoods and the rate at which they are dying.
Based on the assumption that life expectancy in Namibia is 63 years, it is possible that by the year 2040 no single veteran will still be alive and the veterans arm of the ministry will have been phased out and closed.
DUSTBINS AND DASHED HOPES
Our hopes were pinned on the current budget, tabled at a time that the standard of living in Namibia is high and poverty has increased.
The prices of basic commodities have doubled or even tripled since independence.
Unfortunately, reliable statistics about household income and poverty levels are not available.
As long as the household income surveys conducted by the Namibia Statistics Agency do not involve researchers getting their hands dirty by reaching into the dustbins of citizens living in Kleine Kuppe, and those citizens living in informal settlements, to determine differences between wealthy and poor households, the extent of poverty and inequality in Namibia will not be truly revealed.
Veterans and pensioners are living in poverty.
– Rukee Tjingaete has a PhD in media studies from Michigan State University in the United States. He is also a published author.
