Rundu residents demand answers on drought-relief exclusion
A group of individuals from Rundu’s Ndama community who were initially registered for drought relief claim they have been unfairly omitted from the programme following a verification process.
The affected individuals claim to have followed proper procedures for registering their names. However, they were unexpectedly excluded during the verification phase.
Hileni Amadhila, the group's spokesperson, told Namibian Sun that despite their attempts to seek assistance from the Rundu councillor’s office, their cries have fallen on deaf ears.
"We tried going to the councillor's office, but the councillor was not around. We are tired of this story, so now we want answers from the prime minister's office. We feel bad because we are a group of unemployed people and this drought food would have helped us and our families," she said.
'Not fair'
She said the residents were reassured recently when the prime minister, on a radio broadcast, said that everyone should get food.
"It’s not fair at all. During the verification process, we waited for them to come, but they never did. Weeks later, we saw trucks handing out food to people who were on the list – which did not have our names on it. The trucks left with food while we stood there without having received anything,” she said.
Amadhila added that the group had considered organising a demonstration to voice their grievances but found the process too complicated.
"This is why we came to Namibian Sun, so maybe that way our cries will be heard," she said.
Meeting requirements
The chairperson of the Kavango East Regional Council, Damian Maghambayi, told Namibian Sun that his office has not received a complaint in regard to the matter.
“All the constituency office officials, including Rundu urban, were mandated to verify beneficiaries for drought relief food. However, Rundu urban constituency was advised to verify beneficiaries based on the requirements for a conditional basic income grant through the ministry of gender and poverty eradication. If there are beneficiaries claiming exclusion in this exercise, my office has not yet received such a complaint,” he said.
“The question is, where were these beneficiaries during the officially announced verification exercise? Beneficiaries need to meet certain requirements to be registered. It is a question of meeting the requirements and proper justification provided to be able to be included in the programme through the ministry of gender,” he added.
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The affected individuals claim to have followed proper procedures for registering their names. However, they were unexpectedly excluded during the verification phase.
Hileni Amadhila, the group's spokesperson, told Namibian Sun that despite their attempts to seek assistance from the Rundu councillor’s office, their cries have fallen on deaf ears.
"We tried going to the councillor's office, but the councillor was not around. We are tired of this story, so now we want answers from the prime minister's office. We feel bad because we are a group of unemployed people and this drought food would have helped us and our families," she said.
'Not fair'
She said the residents were reassured recently when the prime minister, on a radio broadcast, said that everyone should get food.
"It’s not fair at all. During the verification process, we waited for them to come, but they never did. Weeks later, we saw trucks handing out food to people who were on the list – which did not have our names on it. The trucks left with food while we stood there without having received anything,” she said.
Amadhila added that the group had considered organising a demonstration to voice their grievances but found the process too complicated.
"This is why we came to Namibian Sun, so maybe that way our cries will be heard," she said.
Meeting requirements
The chairperson of the Kavango East Regional Council, Damian Maghambayi, told Namibian Sun that his office has not received a complaint in regard to the matter.
“All the constituency office officials, including Rundu urban, were mandated to verify beneficiaries for drought relief food. However, Rundu urban constituency was advised to verify beneficiaries based on the requirements for a conditional basic income grant through the ministry of gender and poverty eradication. If there are beneficiaries claiming exclusion in this exercise, my office has not yet received such a complaint,” he said.
“The question is, where were these beneficiaries during the officially announced verification exercise? Beneficiaries need to meet certain requirements to be registered. It is a question of meeting the requirements and proper justification provided to be able to be included in the programme through the ministry of gender,” he added.
[email protected]
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