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RIGHTS-NAMIBIA: Orphans to Benefit from New Tax
By Rosemary Nalisa
WINDHOEK, Jan 22 (IPS) - From April, the government will introduce a new tax to cater for the growing needs of orphans in Namibia.
Namibia is facing an orphan crisis worsened by the high mortality rate due to HIV/AIDS. The amount of the tax to be paid has yet to be determined.
Namibia, with a population of 1.8 million, has 82,671 registered orphans. This figure is, however, believed to be the tip of the iceberg, as not every orphan has been registered, especially in rural area.
The Minister of Women Affairs and Child Welfare, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwa, who has already briefed the cabinet about the plight of the child, says Namibia will have 251,054 orphans by 2021. Last year, Nandi-Ndaitwa visited 12 of Namibia's 13 regions, and held talks with members of 41 households headed by children and teenage youths, as well as by pensioned grandparents.
Nandi-Ndaitwa says most of the pensioners are using their meagre monthly benefits of 25 U.S. dollars to look after their grandchildren. ''Besides the food shortages in some houses, one wonders how long these children will be able to take care of each other emotionally,'' she wonders.
Nandi-Ndaitwa also expresses concern at reports that some of the teenage girls have turned to selling their bodies in exchange for money to look after their siblings, a situation, which she warns, exposes them to HIV infection.
In the seven northern regions, that the minister visited, 95 percent of the children have lost both parents, while in the southern regions the majority have lost their mothers, but their fathers do not look after them, as most of them are unemployed.
Nandi-Ndaitwa says she also found that some children have dropped out of school, as they could not afford school fees. Some have also been denied health care.
It is a government policy in Namibia to exempt children from paying school fees, if their parents can prove that they are poor.
The government has instructed the ministries of Education and Women, and of Child Welfare to identify poor children and place them in hostels to ensure they remain in school.
It has also directed welfare departments to assist households headed by children, while foster parents are being sought to look after them.
Some of the registered orphans are already receiving grants, which vary from 25 U.S. dollars per child, to 30 U.S. dollars for two children, and to 40 U.S. dollars for three or more children - in one household. In future, foster parents will also be getting grants, and the government says a proper monitoring system will be put in place to ensure that the funds are used solely to look after the children.
Cultural values, which regard as shameful to give up orphans to foster parents, are prompting some grandparents and relatives to hold on to their children despite the fact that they do not have the means to look after them. The government has agreed to help financially so that the grandparents and relatives can look after them.
The government also has called for a review of the existing laws to ensure that pension payments do not cease when orphans reach 18 years of age.
Officials, dealing with pensions, have been urged to speed up the process of claims so that beneficiaries do not have to wait for too long and be exposed to financial hardships. Currently family members have to wait for three or more months for any pension to be paid to them.
International meetings and conferences on Orphans and Vulnerable Children, held in Namibia in May 2001 and June 2002 respectively, categorised the southern African nation as one of the countries badly hit by HIV/AIDS.
Namibia has more than 230,000 people living with the killer disease. (END/2003)
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