Online Reporter
Trust Freddy and Obey Musiwa
All landmine victims will soon be entitled to receive compensation, regardless of when the incident occurred, as the Government fast-tracks the amendment to the War Victims Compensation Act.
Previously, the Act only catered for victims who were injured before March 1, 1980, excluding those who suffered injuries after the cut-off date.
Speaking at a three-day national stakeholder dialogue on humanitarian demining and victim assistance, Veterans of the Liberation Struggle Affairs Minister Monica Mavhunga, said Government was moving to amend the Act to cover those injured by landmines after the war.
“As stakeholders may have observed during the early part of my presentation, only injuries and deaths sustained before 01 March 1980 as a result of the war are catered for,” she said.
“This means that all injuries and deaths sustained after 01 March 1980 as a result of unexploded ordinance like anti-personnel mines are not covered and consequently, the mine victims are not receiving any form of compensation.
“There is therefore an urgent need to amend this provision and compensate the mine victims.”
Regarding compensation for death, Minister Mavhunga said the Act only makes reference to the widow and is silent on the widower.
“Once more, there is need to amend the Act to cater for both the widow and the widower to make it gender sensitive. On compensation for disablement, my Ministry feels that there is need to add a provision for the assessment of ‘invisible injuries’ sustained by mine victims.
“The said Act is therefore being amended together with its regulations, that is to say, Statutory Instrument 806 of 1980.”
This means victims who were injured or died on or after March 1, 1980, will now be included in the compensation scheme, in addition to those who were injured before this date.
Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Minister, Edgar Moyo, said the special group of mine victims fall under his purview as their unwanted interaction with mines often results in their impairments.
Minister Moyo said his ministry will ensure that all victims of land mines were covered by the National Disability Policy.
“I am happy with the progress we have made with not only coming up with the National Disability Policy (2021) but also the Disabled Persons Bill that we hope to see soon enacted which provides for the rights of persons with disabilities.
“We are learning that the policies do have gaps when it comes to direct referral to mine victims but we will ensure that is covered in the reviewed policies in the near future.”
He also said the dialogue should leave the stakeholders and victims themselves more capacitated with how and where to access services.
“We are also very intent on learning best practices for a database on persons with disabilities which does not only cover demographics but also the cause of disabilities, as such information will help us in planning and implementation of relevant programs for persons with disabilities including mine-affected communities,” he said.
The compensation package will include a range of benefits, such as constant attendance allowances, clothing allowances, and children’s allowances.
In addition, the widows and widowers of landmine victims will be entitled to a pension, while children of deceased victims will receive a children’s pension.
The landmine victims will also be eligible to receive a lump sum compensation payment to help them cover the costs of medical expenses, rehabilitation, and other related costs.
The amount of compensation will be determined on a case-by-case basis, taking into account the severity of the injury and the impact it has had on the victim’s life.
