THE ministry of gender has denied allegations that it has run out of funds for its monthly child welfare grants and that it was suspending the processing of new applications to next year as a result.

This is despite the minister of finance Calle Schlettwein announcing during his mid-term budget speech in parliament last week that government was putting aside N$150 million to the Orphans and Vulnerable Children under the gender ministry to cater for exapanded coverage.

A concerned applicant, who declined to be identified, told The Namibian that she applied for a disability grant for her nine-year-old daughter on 15 July, only to be told two weeks ago that her application cannot be processed because ‘there is no money’.

“I was shocked when I was told by an official that I should only call them again next year in January or February,” said the furious mother, adding that “this was unacceptable”.

The ministry of gender currently pays N$250 per child per month and as of September 2016, it had paid grants to 235 000 children. This means the ministry pays N$705 million in child welfare grants per year. The ministry currently has more than 5 000 children with disabilities registered on their grant system.

When The Namibian enquired about the availability of funds, an official in the grants department in Khomasdal denied that there were no funds for the disability grant, but admitted that there was no money for the grant on marginalised groups, which includes street children.

“Yes, there is no money for the vulnerable [children]. You are aware of government’s financial situation,” the official pointed out.

However, despite this revelation, director of child welfare at the ministry Helena Andjamba in an email bluntly denied the funds had dried up and added that they were still receiving and processing new applications.

“The ministry, like any other ministry or institution, does budget for each coming financial year and work according to the allocated budget. There could be times where demand exceeds the allocated budget. However, the ministry will and shall always endeavour to accommodate the most vulnerable children,” she said.

Andjamba said the total of new applications in the categories of orphans, vulnerable children and children with disabilities can reach up to 30 000 per year.

“It is important to note that applications are done by the parent or caregiver, so one application can include one or more children. Therefore the number of children within the applications surpass the number of applications,” she said.

She also made reference to President Hage Geingob’s declaration of war against poverty, saying all efforts and resources are pooled together to address areas which are directly linked to poverty alleviation including children’s grants.