Most of the pensioners in the Hardap region whose monthly grants were frozen due to a verification exercise can expect to receive their funds during the July payment cycle.

Ministry of Gender Equality and Child Welfare senior administrative officer at Rehoboth Yolande Klazen says while administrative delays mean a portion of the more than 400 affected beneficiaries may only see their pension grants reactivated in August, all eligible beneficiaries will receive full back-pay once final approval is granted.

The payment freeze was triggered by data mismatches between the ministry’s records and the National Population Register.

Klazen says local offices were ordered to verify all affected individuals whose files failed to match national database records.

“The issue affected thousands of beneficiaries across the country,” she says.

More than 15 000 Namibian pensioners had their old age grants suspended this month after missing the mandatory government verification process.

So far, over 8 000 affected individuals have been successfully verified and restored to the system.

In the Hardap region, the files of over 400 cleared beneficiaries have been processed by regional staff and are currently awaiting a final sign-off from the ministry’s head office.

One of the affected beneficiaries is Rehoboth resident Martha Gansib, reported to be 120 years old, whose household was left without its monthly source of income after her pension grant was suspended.

Her daughter, also named Martha Gansib, says the family discovered the pension had not been paid when they visited a local bank on 4 June to withdraw the money.

She then approached NamPost at Rehoboth, where she was informed that her mother was no longer registered on the system.

“They told us my mother was no longer on the system. We could not understand how this happened because she is still alive,” she says.

The family says officials suspected the pensioner had passed away and her pension payments were still being collected, resulting in her removal from the database due to her advanced age.

“We were told to bring her in so they could take her fingerprints and verify that she is still alive,” Gansib says.

Recognising the hardship caused by the administrative delay, Rehoboth Mayor Jacky #Khariseb donated emergency food parcels valued at N$2 000 to the household.
– Nampa

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