The Ministry of Gender Equality and Child Welfare has suspended pension grants for an undisclosed number of beneficiaries after a verification exercise found discrepancies between their records and the National Population Register.

Acting Executive Director in the ministry Rosina Museke-Mubonenwa says the affected beneficiaries include those using old South West African or old Namibian identity documents.

She says there are also pensioners registered with ID application notes instead of official identity documents and those with duplicate identity documents or different dates of birth.

According to Museke-Mubonenwa, there are also beneficiaries using documents belonging to persons who have died.

Over 15,000 pensioners did not receive their monthly grant last month, and the ministry conducted a verification process, but some pensioners who spoke to NBC News claim they have also not received the back pay that the government promised last month. NBC News put the matter to the ministry, but no response was provided.
The pensioners further claim they only received this month's grant payment, while many remain without the pay.

Museke-Mubonenwa says beneficiaries whose grants are suspended have until the end of this month to visit their nearest pension office to verify their personal details. 

She says the ministry has begun reinstating payments for verified beneficiaries and will continue processing payments until September. 

Beneficiaries who have still not received their full payment after the September payment cycle have been advised to report to their nearest pension office for assistance, including with back pay.
The ministry has not disclosed how many pensioners have been affected by the suspension of the grants.