National Assembly urges for assistance for children of liberation veterans

A National Assembly report recommends new amendments to the Veterans act no. 2 of 2008, in order to include children of veterans born in exile during the war.

The National Assembly has published a report offering recommendations on the amendment of the veterans act. The issue being addressed is the definition of ‘the child of a veteran’.

This report and the resulting recommendations were based on a petition by the Association of Dependents Veterans Namibia (AODVD), who argued that the old definition excludes the children of war veterans who were born in exile during the war. According to them, they were under 18 at the time of independence, but, since the Veterans Act was only enacted in 2008, they are excluded as they are now older. Those affected argue that they are unable to access benefits and are enduring hardship as a result.

The report reads: “During the consultation with the officials at the Ministry of Defense and Veterans Affairs it became apparent that the officials have not made any effort to review and address the exclusion of children of the liberation struggle in the Act, who were over the age of 18 when the Veterans Act No 2 of 2008 was enacted.”

The executive director of the department of veterans affairs stated that because the Act only made provisions for minors under 18 years it was a challenge for the ministry to address the needs of older dependents of war veterans.

There was an attempt to institute programs to look into the plight of children of the liberation struggle by the ministry through a cabinet decision. However, the office of the ombudsman challenged this as unconstitutional as it was only looking into a narrow segment of the community and excluding other children not falling into that category.

The report recommends that “The Ministry of Defence and Veterans Affairs, in consultation with the Ministry of Justice, to review the proposed amendments to the Veterans Act no. 2 of 2008 and or to come up with amendments that will accommodate all the children who were in exile during the liberation struggle.”