We will not budge: War ‘vets’

ABOUT 180 of the initial 300 children (now adults) of war veterans who have been camping outside the headquarters of the Ministry of Veterans’ Affairs say they will not move until their demands are addressed to their satisfaction.

Since the group first arrived on the Ministry’s doorstep, there has been a split in the committee representing their interests, with many members having returned home after consulting with President Hifikepunye Pohamba. The chairperson of the new committee, Shinedima Salomon, feels that they have no firm commitment from Government despite having received a letter signed by the Minister of Youth assuring them that their problems would be attended to.”They have told us to go home and wait until we are called.What if they don’t call us back? We won’t move until we get the right answer,” he said.Taking a swipe at the previous committee, Salomon said they often consulted amongst themselves, disregarding the interests of the entire group.The new committee is also not happy that their plight has been referred to the Ministry of Youth instead of being dealt with by Veterans’ Affairs, as they would prefer.Ndeutapo Amagulu, Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Veterans’ Affairs, has said that although the demonstrators have a valid case, the group’s demands are not in the mandate of the newly formed ministry.The ministry’s mandate only provides for war veterans and their dependents under 18 years of age.Children whose veteran parents are deceased are also assisted under this mandate.Aware of the split in the committees, Amagulu said “it is unfortunate that they don’t want to listen, and that they’ll have to stay for a long time” because the necessary budgetary allocations have to be made.”I think someone is using these poor children for their own selfish interests to embarrass the Government and even the party,” Amagulu added.Attributing the root cause of the demonstration to poverty, Amagulu further emphasised that education should be made the priority in dealing with the demonstrators, as they would require certain educational qualifications to get job placements.He was confident that with the Ministry of Youth’s involvement, the demonstrators would soon sense that it was time to give Government some “breathing space” and vacate the premises.”This is an important lesson for Government to devise methods to alleviate the problems of society.It needs to be seen to be carrying out policies and programmes,” said Amagulu.The Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Youth, Dr Peingeondjabi Shipoh, could not be reached for comment at the time of going to press.Dr Shipoh heads the committee dealing with the demonstrator’s concerns, which includes officials of the Ministries of Education, Defence, Safety and Security, Finance, Veterans’ Affairs, Youth and the National Planning Commission.Meanwhile, the group remains put on the pavement around the Ministry of Veteran’s Affairs next to the Windhoek railway station, and the hygiene problems associated with their presence are escalating.Initially, the demonstrators were allowed to use the toilets on the first floor of the ministry building, but when these broke down, they started relieving themselves behind the building.There is a stench of urine and people can be seen washing themselves in the open space next to the building They receive water from Trans-Namib – from which the Ministry rents the building.TransNamib spokesperson Ailly Hangula-Paulino says the company was assured that the demonstrators would not stay long after being registered by the Ministry, and TransNamib is heeding the Ministry’s request to be patient until a solution is found.According to her, the demonstration hasn’t negatively affected the business of the parastatal, but is an inconvenience nevertheless.Hangula-Paulino indicated that the Windhoek Municipality is taking steps to address the environmental health concerns.City of Windhoek spokesperson Liz Sibindi said the municipality is monitoring the situation and would soon comment on it.According to Amagulu, Trans-Namib has co-operated with the ministries involved, and would not yet take the ‘extreme’ route of obtaining an eviction order against the demonstrators.Such an action would result in the forced removal of the ‘children’ by Police.The protesters’ committee has appealed to the Red Cross and other organisations for food aid.The chairperson of the new committee, Shinedima Salomon, feels that they have no firm commitment from Government despite having received a letter signed by the Minister of Youth assuring them that their problems would be attended to.”They have told us to go home and wait until we are called.What if they don’t call us back? We won’t move until we get the right answer,” he said. Taking a swipe at the previous committee, Salomon said they often consulted amongst themselves, disregarding the interests of the entire group.The new committee is also not happy that their plight has been referred to the Ministry of Youth instead of being dealt with by Veterans’ Affairs, as they would prefer.Ndeutapo Amagulu, Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Veterans’ Affairs, has said that although the demonstrators have a valid case, the group’s demands are not in the mandate of the newly formed ministry.The ministry’s mandate only provides for war veterans and their dependents under 18 years of age.Children whose veteran parents are deceased are also assisted under this mandate.Aware of the split in the committees, Amagulu said “it is unfortunate that they don’t want to listen, and that they’ll have to stay for a long time” because the necessary budgetary allocations have to be made.”I think someone is using these poor children for their own selfish interests to embarrass the Government and even the party,” Amagulu added.Attributing the root cause of the demonstration to poverty, Amagulu further emphasised that education should be made the priority in dealing with the demonstrators, as they would require certain educational qualifications to get job placements.He was confident that with the Ministry of Youth’s involvement, the demonstrators would soon sense that it was time to give Government some “breathing space” and vacate the premises.”This is an important lesson for Government to devise methods to alleviate the problems of society.It needs to be seen to be carrying out policies and programmes,” said Amagulu.The Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Youth, Dr Peingeondjabi Shipoh, could not be reached for comment at the time of going to press.Dr Shipoh heads the committee dealing with the demonstrator’s concerns, which includes officials of the Ministries of Education, Defence, Safety and Security, Finance, Veterans’ Affairs, Youth and the National Planning Commission.Meanwhile, the group remains put on the pavement around the Ministry of Veteran’s Affairs next to the Windhoek railway station, and the hygiene problems associated with their presence are escalating.Initially, the demonstrators were allowed to use the toilets on the first floor of the ministry building, but when these broke down, they started relieving themselves behind the building.There is a stench of urine and people can be seen washing themselves in the open space next to the building They receive water from Trans-Namib – from which the Ministry rents the building.TransNamib spokesperson Ailly Hangula-Paulino says the company was assured that the demonstrators would not stay long after being registered by the Ministry, and TransNamib is heeding the Ministry’s request to be patient until a solution is found.According to her, the demonstration hasn’t negatively affected the business of the parastatal, but is an inconvenience nevertheless.Hangula-Paulino indicated that the Windhoek Municipality is taking steps to address the environmental health concerns.City of Windhoek spokesperson Liz Sibindi said the municipality is monitoring the situation and would soon comment on it.According to Amagulu, Trans-Namib has co-operated with the ministries involved, and would not yet take the ‘extreme’ route of obtaining an eviction order against the demonstrators.Such an action would result in the forced removal of the ‘children’ by Police.The protesters’ committee has appealed to the Red Cross and other organisations for food aid.