No funds for Angolan returnees UN says it did not budget for these people The United Nations has passed the proverbial buck to the Namibian government saying it did not budget for returnees from Angola. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) says it initially did not retain funds for Namibian returnees repatriated from Angola in 1989 and it is government''s responsibility to integrate them back into society.This response culminates from allegations detailed in a petition handed over in September by a 300-member group known as ''Namibian refugees'', who claim that the UN promised them programmes including resettlement and physical and psychological rehabilitation, but these promises were not delivered on.
In a letter dated 7 October 2016 from the UNHCR in Pretoria, South Africa, in possession of this agency, the UN agency states that claims and accusations that they failed to honour promises made to the returnees are not true.
According to the UNHCR, their mandate is to get limited funds from donors to provide the returnees with start-up kits, which may entail farming tools, non-food items and seeds.
The UN agency said it''s the Namibian government''s responsibility to rehabilitate such persons.
“We wish to state that there are no funds that were earmarked for the Namibian repatriation in 1989 that have not been used or were retained by UNHCR.
Also, as per the rules governing UNHCR''s expenditure, UNHCR offices must return any funds that were not spent in any given fiscal year to its headquarters in Geneva,” reads the statement.
On Thursday, the same group took to the streets of Windhoek, singing and marching with placards from central Katutura to the UN House in Klein Windhoek to deliver a second petition directed to UN secretary-general, Ban Ki-moon.
Group spokesperson, Ueshitile Peyolo Shekupe said they are dissatisfied with the manner in which the repatriation, rehabilitation and resettlement (three Rs) process was done during and after the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 435, which paved the way for Namibia''s independence.
Shekupe said they have been left to fend for themselves, with no access to humanitarian assistance, and are challenged by socio-economic and socio-political problems.
“The problems which we continue to face some 26 years after Namibian independence are inextricably linked to the unsatisfactory way in which the RRR process was implemented.”
Shekupe said the latest petition handed to UN Resident Coordinator, Anita Kiki Gbeho, is for the UN to provide the group with comprehensive information, including UN certified and detailed reports of budgetary commitments and monitoring and evaluation on how the implementation of the RRR process was done in Namibia in 1989.
In September, Nampa reported that upon the refugees'' return from Angola, where they fled to during the liberation struggle for independence from South Africa, they were only given N$10, a mattress, and some utensils, including a hoe.
They are complaining that when they came back, many of them were near the retirement age of 60 and could not secure formal employment or education. The majority now rely on monthly pension grants from government.
Those who arrived while they were still young and able to work are now employed in low-paying jobs with not enough money.
They say the social and economic support by Ministry of Veterans'' Affairs does not address their plight.
NAMPA