Africa-Press – Namibia. The government is currently reviewing the cost and criteria of state-funded funerals, following public concerns over spending, fairness, and the possible misuse of resources.
Minister of defence and veterans affairs Frans Kapofi this week revealed this after the family of former Swapo parliamentarian Isai Kapenambili complained that the government failed to accord him a state-funded funeral.
Kapofi, however, said Kapenambili is not the only veteran who has not been granted this honour.
“There have been many others. It is true the government has not accorded him that status, just like many other veterans who have passed on,” he said.
In Namibia, the conferment of national honours, including state and official funerals, is primarily governed by the Conferment of National Honours Act of 2012.
COSTLY DEATH
In the past two years, the cost of government-funded funerals has reached N$77 million, compared to the 2022/23 financial year in which the government spent N$2.1 million on 23 state funerals.
In 2023, the government spent N$39 million on 38 state-funded funerals.
On average, each state funeral costs N$889 473.
In 2024, state-funded funerals cost taxpayers N$38.4 million for 16 state-funded funerals, prime minister Elijah Ngurare has revealed.
These include the funerals of former president Hage Geingob and founding president Sam Nujoma.
The state has, however, not revealed the exact costs of these two heroes’ funerals, which is suspected to have run into millions.
Ngurare revealed this while motivating the budget for the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) in the National Assembly last month.
The OPM was allocated a budget of N$1.94 billion during the 2024/25 financial year.
“In honouring our national heroes and celebrating our hard-won freedom, it was necessary to allocate resources to ensure these events are conducted with the dignity they deserve,” he said.
Former Popular Democratic Movement parliamentarian Nico Smit previously warned that spending too much on state funerals could create opportunities for corruption.
Despite Namibia’s economic challenges, Smit cautioned that spending excessive funds on state funerals gives leeway to corrupt activities, such as inflated costs for personal gain.
“Excessive government spending on state funerals in Namibia can also strain public finances, diverting funds from essential services like healthcare, education, and infrastructure,” he said.
COMRADES
Speaking at Kapenambili’s memorial service at Etunda village in the Omusati region recently, a relative, Epafras Anyolo, said the former parliamentarian performed his official duties well before and after independence.
“Why did this happen to this fellow? He discharged his duties and responsibilities at home and abroad with diligence… I thought this is not the wish of the Swapo-led government. We don’t blame the Swapo-led government, we blame the people in the offices,” Anyolo said.
He described the fact that Kapenambili was not accorded a state funeral as “deliberate moves and segregational activities that should not happen to others”.
The current Okahao constituency councillor, Leonard Shikulo, also voiced concern during a memorial service held on Friday, saying he was pained that his predecessor had not been honoured with a state funeral.
State funerals have divided public opinion over the years. To some, it has been used to bankroll the funerals of families connected to Swapo.
Former president Nangolo Mbumba, for example, approved 16 government-funded funerals of politicians, war veterans, and business figures between February 2024 and March this year.
REMEMBERING A COMRADE
Founding Okahao constituency councillor Asser Hango over the weekend reflected on Kapenambili’s role in the liberation struggle, recalling how the two went into exile together in the 1980s.
“We served as political commissars before returning to Namibia at independence,” Hango said.
Kapenambili also served as Swapo’s Omusati regional coordinator, Okahao district coordinator, and remained active in party structures until his retirement from public office in 2015.
PRICEY ROAD TRIP
In February this year, The Namibian reported that the government spent about N$30 million to transport founding president Sam Nujoma’s body to seven of the country’s 14 regions.
Additionally, each of the 14 regions reportedly received N$500 000 to organise Nujoma’s memorial services.
The media reported in the past that liberation struggle hero Andimba Toivo ya Toivo’s funeral cost the government N$3 million, followed by N$2 million being spent on former minister Rosalia Nghidinwa’s funeral at Rundu, and N$1.5 million on Kunene regional governor Angelika Muharukua’s funeral.
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