EDITORIAL: Namibia cannot afford to pay war vets

Defence minister Frans Kapofi’s announcement that government needs a whopping N$1.89 billion to pay war veterans should raise flags for everyone who is concerned over the financial well-being of the country going forward.

Kapofi made the announcement in the National Assembly when he motivated his ministry’s budget.

For years, government’s greatest source of headaches has been the struggle kids and the war veterans.

Both these groups, albeit on different ends of the age scale, have one thing in common: Pressuring government to aid them.

While we respect the contribution of war veterans to the liberation of Namibia, we cannot be oblivious to the current realities and challenges crippling the country.

An ailing health system, poor education system, lack of potable water and sanitation in several areas as well as many other social challenges continue to pull our people into the trenches of abject poverty.

Government has done its part as far as supporting war veterans and struggle kids is concerned. We must now look to the future instead of constantly breaking our necks by peeking backwards.

Since the war veterans project commenced years back, government has spent over N$2 billion for a small fraction of the population. Can we really justify this spending considering the current economic realities that are upon us?

This is money that should be used to improve the lives of all Namibians, not just a few.