Vets group plans to ignore President’s plea

A LAST-DITCH bid by Government yesterday – including a personal appeal from President Hifikepunye Pohamba – to stop a Committee on Welfare of Ex-Combatants from demonstrating on Monday is set to go unheeded.

Committee spokesperson Alex Kamwi says their planned protest is “inevitable”. Frustrated committee members – thousands, according to Kamwi – who say they fought for independence are set to take to the streets to protest Government’s refusal to give in to their demands for lucrative benefits.Yesterday afternoon, Prime Minister Nahas Angula, Swapo Secretary General Ngarikutuke Tjiriange, Defence Minister Charles Namoloh and Deputy Minister of Information and Broadcasting Raphael Dinyando met with the committee’s leadership to make Government’s stance on their demands categorically clear.Reading a letter from President Hifikepunye Pohamba to the committee, Angula urged them to appreciate Government’s efforts to resolve their plight despite resource constraints, and to refrain from “creating division and disunity”.Angula reminded the group that Pohamba had met with them in June, and had addressed the nation on their demands in August.He further noted that Tjiriange had spoken on the same issue during the official Heroes’ Day commemoration in the Caprivi.”Thus, I urge you and members of your committee to remain calm and refrain from actions which do not reflect the long-standing values and traditions of Swapo freedom fighters,” President Pohamba’s letter said.Asked during the meeting whether their demonstration would continue, Kamwi said they would need time to study Pohamba’s response before giving a definite answer.However, when asked again after the meeting, he told The Namibian that the statement did not satisfy the committee.”This is the same thing they’ve been telling us all along,” he said.”It’s definitely still on,” he said when leaving the Prime Minister’s office.However calls on the public to distance themselves from the group seem to have had some impact.Speaking to The Namibian earlier yesterday, Kamwi admitted that statements made by Swapo Party president Sam Nujoma in the past month had diminished the spirit of especially those committee members employed in Government positions.He claimed that many no longer wanted to be seen to be openly supporting the group.Kamwi added that group had cancelled plans to march in different regions, with a demonstration now scheduled to take place only in Windhoek.Kamwi said the committee had briefed the Police on their plans for a demonstration, and that President Pohamba’s concern about people demonstrating in front of public buildings had been conveyed to them.”We’ve spoken to the Police, and they expressed themselves on the camping worries,” Kamwi told The Namibian yesterday.”But let’s be clear.We’re not interested in camping.We’re simply going there for an answer,” he said.”Whether we camp or not will depend on how soon we get our answer.”Demonstrators are expected to arrive in Windhoek over the weekend, many of whom Kamwi said would be travelling in minibuses from all across the country.”I think the only region that won’t make it is the Caprivi because of the distance.But the rest, we’re set.”The committee says it expects about 600 to 800 people to participate.Police spokesperson Angula Amulungu confirmed that the Police were aware of demonstrators’ plans, and that officers would be present to keep the situation in check.The committee’s demands include a lump sum of half a million Namibian dollars per ex-combatant, or N$31 000 multiplied by the years each served in Plan.They also want free education and medical services for their families, as well as fishing quotas and mining concessions.Both Pohamba and Nujoma have rejected the group’s demands.They say it would cost N$6 billion, an amount which could leave the country permanently bankrupt.Government has repeatedly referred to a number of initiatives it has in place to address the plight of war veterans.These include incorporating ex-combatants into Government services, the introduction of a War Veterans’ Trust Fund and a Socio-Economic Integration Programme for Ex-Combatants.Most recently it announced that it was investing more than N$8 million in a housing plan to benefit needy ex-combatants and “internally brutalised people”.However, the Committee has refused to drop its demands.But yesterday they told Angula that they are prepared to negotiate if their demands were considered too harsh.Frustrated committee members – thousands, according to Kamwi – who say they fought for independence are set to take to the streets to protest Government’s refusal to give in to their demands for lucrative benefits.Yesterday afternoon, Prime Minister Nahas Angula, Swapo Secretary General Ngarikutuke Tjiriange, Defence Minister Charles Namoloh and Deputy Minister of Information and Broadcasting Raphael Dinyando met with the committee’s leadership to make Government’s stance on their demands categorically clear.Reading a letter from President Hifikepunye Pohamba to the committee, Angula urged them to appreciate Government’s efforts to resolve their plight despite resource constraints, and to refrain from “creating division and disunity”.Angula reminded the group that Pohamba had met with them in June, and had addressed the nation on their demands in August. He further noted that Tjiriange had spoken on the same issue during the official Heroes’ Day commemoration in the Caprivi.”Thus, I urge you and members of your committee to remain calm and refrain from actions which do not reflect the long-standing values and traditions of Swapo freedom fighters,” President Pohamba’s letter said. Asked during the meeting whether their demonstration would continue, Kamwi said they would need time to study Pohamba’s response before giving a definite answer.However, when asked again after the meeting, he told The Namibian that the statement did not satisfy the committee.”This is the same thing they’ve been telling us all along,” he said.”It’s definitely still on,” he said when leaving the Prime Minister’s office.However calls on the public to distance themselves from the group seem to have had some impact.Speaking to The Namibian earlier yesterday, Kamwi admitted that statements made by Swapo Party president Sam Nujoma in the past month had diminished the spirit of especially those committee members employed in Government positions.He claimed that many no longer wanted to be seen to be openly supporting the group.Kamwi added that group had cancelled plans to march in different regions, with a demonstration now scheduled to take place only in Windhoek.Kamwi said the committee had briefed the Police on their plans for a demonstration, and that President Pohamba’s concern about people demonstrating in front of public buildings had been conveyed to them.”We’ve spoken to the Police, and they expressed themselves on the camping worries,” Kamwi told The Namibian yesterday.”But let’s be clear.We’re not interested in camping.We’re simply going there for an answer,” he said.”Whether we camp or not will depend on how soon we get our answer.”Demonstrators are expected to arrive in Windhoek over the weekend, many of whom Kamwi said would be travelling in minibuses from all across the country.”I think the only region that won’t make it is the Caprivi because of the distance.But the rest, we’re set.”The committee says it expects about 600 to 800 people to participate.Police spokesperson Angula Amulungu confirmed that the Police were aware of demonstrators’ plans, and that officers would be present to keep the situation in check.The committee’s demands include a lump sum of half a million Namibian dollars per ex-combatant, or N$31 000 multiplied by the years each served in Plan.They also want free education and medical services for their families, as well as fishing quotas and mining concessions.Both Pohamba and Nujoma have rejected the group’s demands.They say it would cost N$6 billion, an amount which could leave the country permanently bankrupt.Government has repeatedly referred to a number of initiatives it has in place to address the plight of war veterans.These include incorporating ex-combatants into Government services, the introduction of a War Veterans’ Trust Fund and a Socio-Economic Integration Programme for Ex-Combatants. Most recently it announced that it was investing more than N$8 million in a housing plan to benefit needy ex-combatants and “internally brutalised people”.However, the Committee has refused to drop its demands.But yesterday they told Angula that they are prepared to negotiate if their demands were considered too harsh.