Tjiriange ticked off

A GROUP of former Plan fighters demanding compensation may have failed to get Government to heed their demands so far, but it appears that they have managed to raise the hackles of the concerned Minister.

In a letter to The Namibian yesterday, Veterans Affairs Minister Ngarikutuke Tjiriange challenged the former combatants’ claim that he had refused to speak to them since his Ministry’s inception. He made it clear that as far as his Ministry was concerned, Alex Kamwi’s group had no bargaining status on behalf of fellow war veterans.The former fighters are demanding compensation for their role in the liberation struggle.Tjiriange took exception to comments made by Kamwi in an article published in The Namibian on Monday, which he charged created an inaccurate impression that he had refused to meet with the group.Kamwi was quoted as saying that on June 4, his group would march to the Ministry’s offices and camp there, “since the responsible minister, Dr Ngarikutuke Tjiriange, has not so far spoken to us, despite several requests”.”This is not true.This ministry has written several letters to the so-called Committee, explaining clearly what the position of the Ministry is with regard to what and how it intends to address this issue,” Tjiriange responded.He had personally written to Ruusa Malulu, another of the group’s leaders, on March 26, he said, telling her that the Ministry had just been created and that it wanted to rather look at veterans’ issues in a “holistic and comprehensive manner”.”The Ministry’s Permanent Secretary (PS), on my instruction, met with this group this year where the group was clearly informed and requested by him to be patient while the ministry was putting up structures in place.”We cannot work in a vacuum,” Tjiriange said.He said the meeting between the PS and the group was ordered despite reservations he had over the “confrontational attitude” shown by the group in a letter written to him last month.”The group …warned me that if I do not obey their commands, (they) would never talk to me again.I find such attitude in bad taste and it will only contribute to hardening positions,” he said.”It is unfortunate that our plea for patience is being ignored, which makes me suspect that the motives behind such threats and demonstrations are not genuine,” Tjiriange claimed.”In the first place the Ministry of Veterans’ Affairs does not recognise any association of war veterans.That should be clear.Of course, individuals have the right to form an association of whatever stripes and shade, but that does not mean they represent all war veterans.The Ministry …will not address this issue through such an association,” he said.The Ministry does not need a “middle man” to act between itself and the veterans it represents, Tjiriange said.The Minister provided The Namibian with copies of the correspondence between himself and the group.In a televised address to war veterans on Tuesday, Tjiriange urged them to remain patient while his Ministry gets itself organised.Thus far, he said, the Ministry had obtained its operational budget, a process which could only be approved during the last parliamentary session earlier this year.The search for a building to serve as headquarters also took time and was only completed recently, he said.Also completed was the adoption of the different structures in the Ministry, which will provide for the creation of appropriate directorates and departments.Currently under way is the process of filling vacancies, Tjiriange said.”The moment we start functioning as a fully fledged and organised Ministry we shall embark on the registration of veterans and consult them on the best possible way to address their plight,” he said.”We understand the high expectations and anxiety created by the establishment of this new Ministry.However, if we are expected to do a thorough and proper job for the veterans we should be systematic, analytic and focused, and must not be rushed or be put under unnecessary pressure.”He made it clear that as far as his Ministry was concerned, Alex Kamwi’s group had no bargaining status on behalf of fellow war veterans.The former fighters are demanding compensation for their role in the liberation struggle.Tjiriange took exception to comments made by Kamwi in an article published in The Namibian on Monday, which he charged created an inaccurate impression that he had refused to meet with the group.Kamwi was quoted as saying that on June 4, his group would march to the Ministry’s offices and camp there, “since the responsible minister, Dr Ngarikutuke Tjiriange, has not so far spoken to us, despite several requests”.”This is not true.This ministry has written several letters to the so-called Committee, explaining clearly what the position of the Ministry is with regard to what and how it intends to address this issue,” Tjiriange responded.He had personally written to Ruusa Malulu, another of the group’s leaders, on March 26, he said, telling her that the Ministry had just been created and that it wanted to rather look at veterans’ issues in a “holistic and comprehensive manner”.”The Ministry’s Permanent Secretary (PS), on my instruction, met with this group this year where the group was clearly informed and requested by him to be patient while the ministry was putting up structures in place.”We cannot work in a vacuum,” Tjiriange said.He said the meeting between the PS and the group was ordered despite reservations he had over the “confrontational attitude” shown by the group in a letter written to him last month.”The group …warned me that if I do not obey their commands, (they) would never talk to me again.I find such attitude in bad taste and it will only contribute to hardening positions,” he said.”It is unfortunate that our plea for patience is being ignored, which makes me suspect that the motives behind such threats and demonstrations are not genuine,” Tjiriange claimed.”In the first place the Ministry of Veterans’ Affairs does not recognise any association of war veterans.That should be clear.Of course, individuals have the right to form an association of whatever stripes and shade, but that does not mean they represent all war veterans.The Ministry …will not address this issue through such an association,” he said.The Ministry does not need a “middle man” to act between itself and the veterans it represents, Tjiriange said.The Minister provided The Namibian with copies of the correspondence between himself and the group.In a televised address to war veterans on Tuesday, Tjiriange urged them to remain patient while his Ministry gets itself organised.Thus far, he said, the Ministry had obtained its operational budget, a process which could only be approved during the last parliamentary session earlier this year.The search for a building to serve as headquarters also took time and was only completed recently, he said.Also completed was the adoption of the different structures in the Ministry, which will provide for the creation of appropriate directorates and departments.Currently under way is the process of filling vacancies, Tjiriange said.”The moment we start functioning as a fully fledged and organised Ministry we shall embark on the registration of veterans and consult them on the best possible way to address their plight,” he said.”We understand the high expectations and anxiety created by the establishment of this new Ministry.However, if we are expected to do a thorough and proper job for the veterans we should be systematic, analytic and focused, and must not be rushed or be put under unnecessary pressure.”