Martin Endjala
The professional and danger allowances of aircraft technicians serving in the Namibian Airforce have been stopped without any justification.
For lower-ranking airforce technicians, professional allowances start at N$1,800, and danger allowances start at N$1,090.
The cessation of allowance payments has affected many members, especially those with houses and vehicles purchased with the aid of bank loans.
On Tuesday, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Defence and Veterans Affairs, Lieutenant Colonel Petrus Shilumbu confirmed that the payment of allowances was stopped for some members.
“The deduction was done automatically by the Ministry of Finance and Public Enterprises. The Ministry of Defence and Veterans Affairs is yet to receive written communication from the finance ministry explaining why the allowance payments were stopped,” said Shilumbu.
Shilumbu said the ministry is currently consulting with the Office of the Prime Minister and the finance ministry on the matter.
He cautioned that this is an internal matter to be resolved within the defence organisation.
“It does not mean troops should report it to the media but should approach their immediate commanders to seek answers or clarity,” Shilumbu stressed.
Those who were affected by the abrupt stoppage of payments spoke to the Windhoek Observer on the condition of anonymity for fear of victimisation.
One source said that they normally receive their professional and danger allowances each month, but that it stopped in April and that the payments are not reflected in their May payslips.
The soldiers further said that they received no explanation for the removal of their allowances.
“Some of us have houses and cars plus other debit orders, which we usually pay by using those allowances. We really don’t know where to go anymore since we are being controlled by the Military Discipline Code,” said the source.
The source further argued that they did not receive any documents to present to the banks or other items necessary to save them from their debit orders.
Another source claimed that their employer informed them about a document from the Prime Minister from last year that called for the removal of those receiving professional allowances that were out of line with their jobs.
According to the source, this also affected some human resource management members who ignored the document.
The source stated that the Ministry of Finance received another directive to remove the allowances.
