Query: Prime Minister and Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Defence, why is the pension of those who resigned or were discharged from the NDF taking too long to be paid out?
Response: The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has noted the concerns of the complainant with regard to the delay on payment of pensions for NDF members after they resigned or are discharged. However, the MoD would like to inform the complainant that pensions of all civil servants, including members of the NDF, are paid out by the GIPF and not by the MoD. The MoD is only involved in the process of facilitating the approval of resignation or discharge as well as facilitating the documents required by the GIPF to process the pension pay out, which is always done on time. The submission of documents is always done on time from our side.
The incidents of delay could be experienced when the amount to be paid to the member exceeds N$10,000 because the MoD has to seek a tax directive. This means, they have to verify whether the member owes tax to Government through the office where the member was registered as a taxpayer. It is unfortunate that this is the due process that has to be complied with by all Government institutions.
* Mr. Gideon Shuuya, Chief Media Officer, Ministry of Defence, Contact Number: 061204 9111