Lahja Nashuuta
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Constitutional and Legal Affairs has recommended that the Ministry of Defence and Veterans’ Affairs, in collaboration with the Ministry of Justice, amend the Veterans Act to include all children born in exile.
The proposed amendment intends to allow the law to extend benefits to dependents and children of war veterans who are over the age of 18, particularly those who joined the liberation struggle as minors.
This follows a petition submitted to the National Assembly by the Association of the Dependents of Namibia’s Veterans (AODNDV), which urged lawmakers to review Part 1, Section 1(a) of the Act, specifically the definition of a “child of a veteran.”
Children of the liberation fighters argue that they were excluded from government support since the Veterans’ Act came into effect in 2008. The current definition limits a veteran’s child to someone under the age of 18, effectively disqualifying many who were minors at independence but are now adults.
“These individuals were under 18 at the time of Namibia’s independence, but because the Act was only enacted in 2008, they were excluded due to their current age,” said committee chairperson Kletus Karondo.
Speaking in the National Assembly last week, he argued that many of these children were born in exile during the war, and are now facing socio-economic challenges without State support.
He said the amendment is crucial to addressing the ongoing hardships experienced by children and dependents of war veterans, especially those who lost one or both parents in the fight for Namibia’s independence.
Karondo maintained that excluding children over the age of 18 has had a lasting impact. “This situation has given rise to a group commonly known as children of the liberation struggle or ‘struggle kids’, who have continually raised their plight to the government,” he said.
In the current financial year, the Ministry of Defence and Veterans’ Affairs was allocated N$5.4 billion, with N$6.5 million specifically designated for veterans’ affairs. Planned activities include the construction of a guardhouse for the Zambezi regional office, a storeroom for the Kavango East regional office, and the Etaka Agricultural Project in Onesi. Additionally, there will be a boundary wall and internment project at the Okaongobati Heritage Site, as well as the erection of tombstones at cemeteries and graves of Namibian freedom fighters in Nyango, Zambia.