The Minister of Gender Equality and Child Welfare, Emma Kantema, has confirmed that over 15,000 elderly have been affected due to outdated documents and have not received pension grants for the past few months.

She revealed the figure after concerns were raised by Swapo Party MP Uahekua Herunga regarding the wellbeing of the elderly and their family members.

“We have a project to revive those traditional wells and modernise them and install solar panels. This will help us avoid risking people’s lives by preventing drowning incidents while they are searching for water. The project is already being implemented in the Eengodi Constituency.”

Dr Kantema stated in her response that beneficiaries should present the necessary documents to the ministry for proof of life.

She further acknowledged that due to the overwhelming numbers received, the system has been slow on capturing the data required for approval.

“When it comes to approval, because the approval is done at the head office, we intend to increase the working hours and incur overtime to expedite the process and ensure that the 15,785 affected cases are addressed. So far, we have managed to put 5,500 back on the system. But I want to reassure the nation that this issue is receiving the attention it deserves. We are hoping that by the next Bay Run, towards the end of October, we should have cleared the backlog.”