Namvet to play politics
The leader of the organisation says former soldiers should unite to make their voices heard in the next election.
The Namibia War Veterans Trust (Namvet) says it is considering entering the political fray by participating in the 2019 national elections after all attempts to engage the Swapo-led government have failed.
Namvet leader Jabulani Ndeunyema said at a press briefing yesterday that this decision was the logical next step after former SWATF and Koevoet members were stonewalled from any meaningful and constructive discussion with the ruling party and government.
“We have exhausted all options and unless someone is advising us otherwise, as a united SWATF and Koevoet family our next step may be a risky one,” Ndeunyema said.
He called on all former SWATF and Koevoet members, as well as their children, to disassociate themselves from all other political parties and vote as a united block to continue their fight for recognition as war veterans.
Ndeunyema said former SWATF and Koevoet members on the payrolls of political parties should remain there “as hibernators” until further notice.
He estimates the former soldiers account for about 500 000 Namibians.
“We are not going to vote in isolation but as a team for the sake of our own interests,” Ndeunyema said.
“We are growing up and we have the competence to run our own affairs because we have learnt that politics determines who has the power and not who has the truth. We cannot continue to sacrifice for others for them to remain politically relevant.”
The former soldiers have staged a sit-in demonstration for nearly four years and have repeatedly petitioned President Hage Geingob and other government institutions, as well as opposition political parties, which have so far remained silent on the matter.
The latest Namvet position comes after a report by the parliamentary standing committee on constitutional and legal affairs was discussed in parliament last month.
This report recommended that the Veterans Act of 2008 not be amended. Namvet and other former soldiers had called for an amendment that would recognise them as war veterans.
The report further recommended that these soldiers not be given special pensions, social grants or counselling, but that they should make use of state health facilities as ordinary citizens.
It further recommended that those in need should register with the food banks.
Ndeunyema called the recommendations as “insane”, saying the Swapo government should “keep its Veterans' Act”, but pay out the N$36 million pension money from the South African government to the former soldiers.
He also expressed disappointment at the Namibian government's dismissal of a proposal by the former South African high commissioner to Namibia, Yvette Myakayaka-Manzini, for a summit between the two governments to discuss an amicable solution to the issue of the former SWATF and Koevoet soldiers.
CATHERINE SASMAN
Namvet leader Jabulani Ndeunyema said at a press briefing yesterday that this decision was the logical next step after former SWATF and Koevoet members were stonewalled from any meaningful and constructive discussion with the ruling party and government.
“We have exhausted all options and unless someone is advising us otherwise, as a united SWATF and Koevoet family our next step may be a risky one,” Ndeunyema said.
He called on all former SWATF and Koevoet members, as well as their children, to disassociate themselves from all other political parties and vote as a united block to continue their fight for recognition as war veterans.
Ndeunyema said former SWATF and Koevoet members on the payrolls of political parties should remain there “as hibernators” until further notice.
He estimates the former soldiers account for about 500 000 Namibians.
“We are not going to vote in isolation but as a team for the sake of our own interests,” Ndeunyema said.
“We are growing up and we have the competence to run our own affairs because we have learnt that politics determines who has the power and not who has the truth. We cannot continue to sacrifice for others for them to remain politically relevant.”
The former soldiers have staged a sit-in demonstration for nearly four years and have repeatedly petitioned President Hage Geingob and other government institutions, as well as opposition political parties, which have so far remained silent on the matter.
The latest Namvet position comes after a report by the parliamentary standing committee on constitutional and legal affairs was discussed in parliament last month.
This report recommended that the Veterans Act of 2008 not be amended. Namvet and other former soldiers had called for an amendment that would recognise them as war veterans.
The report further recommended that these soldiers not be given special pensions, social grants or counselling, but that they should make use of state health facilities as ordinary citizens.
It further recommended that those in need should register with the food banks.
Ndeunyema called the recommendations as “insane”, saying the Swapo government should “keep its Veterans' Act”, but pay out the N$36 million pension money from the South African government to the former soldiers.
He also expressed disappointment at the Namibian government's dismissal of a proposal by the former South African high commissioner to Namibia, Yvette Myakayaka-Manzini, for a summit between the two governments to discuss an amicable solution to the issue of the former SWATF and Koevoet soldiers.
CATHERINE SASMAN
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