Nangula Shejavali
3 November 2008
THE registration of young people born in exile has been suspended indefinitely in the Khomas Region after tension flared at the Khomas Regional Council last week.
The unwillingness of some of the 'struggle children' to return to their home regions for registration has been blamed for bringing the process, which began countrywide last Monday, to a halt.
Because of the chaos and disruption that ensued last week Wednesday, the Khomas Regional Council has said its premises are no longer available for the registration process.
"The kids camping on the TransNamib premises went into the governor's office at the regional council, disrupting the process and undermining the authority of the Police who were keeping order there," said Dr Peingeondjabi Shipoh, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Youth.
Today marks two months since the group assembled outside the offices of the Ministry of Veterans' Affairs, claiming to be children of veterans of the liberation struggle, and demanding education and jobs.
Despite several appeals from Government to return to their home regions, the protesters are adamant that they will keep up their demonstration next to the Windhoek railway station.
Those who did leave earlier, after an appeal by President Hifikepunye Pohamba, apparently clashed with the remaining protesters when the two groups met at the registration point last week.
But Shipoh said the major problem disrupting the registration process is that many of the youths are not from the Khomas Region and do not want to return to their regions to be registered there.
The registration and verification of claimants had to be conducted at a regional level, he pointed out.
Asked when the registration in the Khomas Region would resume, Shipoh said: "No registration will take place until they [the demonstrators] have returned to their regions.
We will not allow squatting at TransNamib.
"I don't know why they are continuing to demonstrate in the first place.
They came to the Government for help, and now when we are helping them, they refuse to co-operate.
We might as well call it a day because they are not co-operating.
"We are trying to ascertain who is a child of the liberation struggle and who isn't.
Once the registration is done, we will then verify the information obtained.
"From there, we have been given the mandate by Cabinet to address the educational and employment needs of the group, and it is through the registration process that we are engaging them to let us know what their needs are."
The registration is continuing as normal in other regions.
So far more than 2 500 people have been registered across the country, Shipoh said.
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