By: Ketemba Tjipepa
A 65-year-old disabled man who lives in 7de Laan, Otjomuise, Windhoek, lives in a difficult state as he struggles to get into his shack because it is uphill and has a high entrance step. Driemund Hendrick, an approved war veteran, has an amputated leg and uses crutches to walk.
Driemund Hendrick, who claims to have assisted some ruling party members to escape from jail during the liberation struggle, explained to News on One that he felt betrayed by the government as they did not build him the house he was promised.
"They (veterans affairs) took my statement, afterwards I came home and I was approved as a veteran and up to now I am a veteran. But unfortunately SWAPO has forgotten about me. They left me without accommodation," says Hendrick.
Hendrick currently lives with his wife who is also disabled in a shack that was extended by a contractor after learning about their plight. Hendrick stated that he needs an accessible home because he qualifies for veterans housing and has requested the government to look for a plot of land for him on which to build a house.
"The veteran house is N$ 500,000.00 this is the house I need because I qualify for this house. I cannot live in a shack house like this one. At this house I have a problem with moving down the stairs, because they are very high for us to go up and down," he said.
The Senior Public Relations Officer within the veterans affairs department at the Ministry of Defence and Veterans Affairs, Edson Haufiku, stated that the Ministry's requirement is that a veteran must own land for them to build a house on, which Hendrick does not have. According to Haufiku, the Ministry told Hendrick to first find land and then notify them. But Hendrick has never gotten back to them.
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