CoD wants more assistance for war vets

Home National CoD wants more assistance for war vets

WINDHOEK – Congress of Democrats (CoD) president, Ben Ulenga, has accused the Swapo-led government of not having done enough to provide assistance to people still affected by the liberation struggle.

Using the example of the late Simeon Lineeka ‘Kambo’ Shixungileni, Ulenga says the dreadful condition in which Shixungileni lived is clear testimony that the government has failed liberation struggle icons.
“I am not going to attack the government on this, however we should remember that the government is here on behalf of its people and their duty is to take care of its people,” he said, adding that there are a number of youngsters swimming in a pool of money just by selling EPLs for millions of American dollars.
“I think if anybody has to benefit from this it should have been Shixungileni,” he said.
He said government should support former freedom fighters, exiles, descendants of exiles, former political prisoners such as those who languished on Robben Island “so that we not witness what we witnessed recently,” he said.
“It is high time to put substance into the continuously loud but unfortunately empty and meaningless noises that government has been making about Namibian heroes and heroines of the colonial wars, the liberation struggle and former political prisoners,” he said.
He said although government has attempted to support people the support has not been good enough.
Meanwhile, Ulenga announced the CoD candidate for the Windhoek West Constituency by-election as Josef Amathila and Denis Venda for the Endola Constituency by-election before the general elections in November.
He dismissed as untrue a previous media reports that claimed the CoD was not going to contest the two by-elections.