TSUMKWE— Many pensioners of the San community at Tsumkwe live without their national identification documents and social grant cards, which have allegedly been confiscated by local business owners. 

These unscrupulous businesspeople, who ply the pensioners with alcohol on credit, reportedly seize the pensioners’ entire social grants at pay points. 

This troubling state of affairs was brought to light during New Era’s recent visit to the Tsumkwe constituency.

This publication visited about 18 villages across the northern, southern and eastern parts of the constituency to fully understand the lives of San communities, particularly the Ju/’Hoansi San.

In the village of ≠Otcaqkxai, elderly headman Ikunta N≠amce welcomed the news crew by raising what he called “an aggressive matter of pensioners living without documentation.” He stated that for years, pensioners who earn social grants in Tsumkwe have had their ID documents confiscated by unscrupulous business owners who collect the pensioners’ grants instead for money owed, mainly for liquor.

“Some of them are there,” he said, pointing to //uce //xari, a San elderly woman who sat there with her legs crossed, and her left arm lifting the right one. When asked about her documents, //xari said they were with a businesswoman in Tsumkwe, who keeps them as collateral for an alleged debt. Shockingly, //xari does not even know how much she owes the said  businesswoman. 

“I don’t know how much I owe her. But I have her money,” she acknowledged softly, looking down with dry lips, which showed signs of hunger.

The headman said  at least six pensioners in his village were affected by this, but New Era cannot publish their names without their comments as we arrived around 19h00 when some were still out looking for food and after livestock.

Citizen //xari continued that her documents are held by Maria Jembe, a businesswoman married to a police officer at the local crime prevention unit. When New Era approached Jembe, she was found outside, relaxing after her day’s chores, with her husband sitting in a nearby red car with their baby. It was after hours when the newspaper reached Jembe, who confirmed she had //xari’s documents. 

This, she said, was because //xari owed her N$1 800, but her main concern was how New Era had come to know her name. 

“First of all, I just want to know who told you my name. That lady gave me her ID document herself to keep for her. I did not confiscate it from her. I gave her food, for which she owes me,” Jembe stated. 

She added that she had also given money to //xari’s children when they came asking. “She has eight children in total, and some of them come here, so I give them money. But I can give her back her documents if that is the case,” she said in front of her husband, who looked surprised at the reporter’s questions.

Although other business owners are involved in similar practices, New Era could not identify them, as they were not approached for comment.

Aware

Tsumkwe constituency councillor Johannes Hausiku acknowledged the problem, saying he is “very familiar with the matter, and equally concerned as the issue has been skyrocketing.” 

He said the matter has been a high-priority concern, especially for the San community, as many lose their documents in this way. “This matter is concerning. It has been going on for a long time, and the police are also aware of it. There was a time when the business community was informed that this  was illegal, and the documents were returned to their owners. But later, we heard they had been taken again,” he said.

Meanwhile, a local activist, wishing to remain anonymous, said business owners are financially exploiting the vulnerable San pensioners. He alleged the amounts claimed by these business people are often inflated. “Sometimes they claim that a pensioner owes them, for example, N$2 000, while they know very well that the social grants are much lower than the value of what they are giving them. Why do they even give so much on credit to vulnerable people who are in need?” he asked.

The activist said these businesspeople wait next to the pensioners in the payout queue to grab both their ID documents and the money as soon as the pensioners receive their grants. 

“That is inhumane. When they take everything, these people, most of them illiterate,  are forced to go back to the businesspeople for more goods, including alcohol, on credit. Something needs to be done. We are glad the newspaper is here so that maybe the authorities will read about it, and take action to protect our elderly people”, the activist continued.

Solutions

Later that day, councillor Hausiku called New Era from the police station, where he was meeting senior Namibian Police officers. He said they plan to meet the business owners to remind them that confiscating people’s documents is illegal. Another meeting will be organised with the affected community members to also educate them on the issue.

When the reporter questioned whether these meetings would solve the issue immediately, the councillor promised that with police support, they would make a “strategic move to address the matter promptly.” The officers at the station confirmed they have often been approached to retrieve people’s documents from the “loan sharks”, as some pensioners need them for other purposes. However, the officers declined to provide further details, referring media queries to regional Nampol spokesperson Maureen Mbeha.