The Department of Defence and Military Veterans has acknowledged that it has not acquitted itself well in its task to provide the needs of the military veterans in the country.
This is despite the enactment of the statutory provisions to cater for all the members of the recognised military formations.
Minister Thandi Modise admitted during a consultation in Cape Town with military veterans that government has not done enough in providing for their basic needs.
“I want to confess that it was not a pleasant sight to see because it actually brought to the fore; the fact that as a country we have said thank you very much and in the different formations, whether as APLA or MK, you have said goodbye to people, thank you for serving and for volunteering. We had not actually applied ourselves the way we actual should have.”
In related video below, military veterans in Free State march to hand over memorandum of demands: Lebogang Melato
In August frustrated military veterans in the Free State said they continued to live in squalor. Residents of a site dedicated to the veterans in Riebeeckstad, Welkom, complained about poor service delivery and overdue benefits.
Some said the houses that were given to them are defective and others complain that they haven’t received their benefits in three years.
Military veterans said they struggle to make ends meet. They live in dilapidated houses. Several houses are in bad state due to shoddy workmanship, while others have no electricity. They say they are yet to receive title deeds.
