Chronicle Editor
Johnsias Mutonhori, Midlands Bureau
THE Parliamentary Portfolio of Defence, Home Affairs, War Veterans and Security Forces chaired by Cde Albert Nguluvhe has embarked on a nationwide crusade conducting consultative meetings with former freedom fighters and their families.
The objective of the meetings is to address the welfare of the struggle veterans with a focus on payment of fees for their children, access to farms, employment opportunities and decent burial for cadres who have died.
Speaking during a meeting in Gweru yesterday, Cde Nguluvhe said the Government was ready to fulfil the desires of the war veterans and their dependants as they fought hard to bring about independence.
“We are engaged in a countrywide outreach programme to gather input on the petitions submitted to Parliament,” he said.
“One focuses on the dignified burial of war veterans, as proposed by Cde Parirenyatwa, and the other addresses the welfare concerns expressed by the children of war veterans.
“Government takes these matters seriously and is genuinely concerned about the welfare of our liberation fighters and that is why we have been sent to listen to them so that we can address their concerns from an informed standpoint.”
The consultation meetings discussed the need to ensure all war veterans were accorded dignified burials including facilitating proper burials for those who were buried in mass graves.
With most struggle veterans now of advanced age, they said they were no longer able to pay for medical bills, which results in most of them dying prematurely due to a lack of access to medication.
“As war veterans, we think our Government must honour those who died during the struggle by according them descent burial. Their families are enduring the pain of never seeing the graves of their loved ones,” one of the participants, Cde Prisca Magidi, said.
“Some of us who survived are suffering from different health conditions, which require regular medical attention, and the attention of specialist medical practitioners, which is out of reach to many.
“It is my plea that Government may create those facilities, either in the form of hospitals, or funds towards the health of the war veterans,” she added.
Cde Humphrey Makuyana said war veterans need economic empowerment to ensure sustainable survival.
“Many members require simple, low-capital, and quick-yield projects such as horticulture and animal husbandry on their allocated plots and farms. Long-term projects with substantial capital requirements may not be suitable,” he asserted.
Cde Florence Mavhunga proposed that similar to the youth and women’s representation, war veterans should have representatives in the House of Assembly and Senate.
“We also need exemptions for paying duty when buying cars and equipment that we would want to use in our farms and other sectors so that we can be able to participate effectively in the growth of this country as well as sustaining our families,” she added.
Cde Tapiwa Machova who is chairman of the Children of War Veterans Association in Gweru said they were facing challenges in education support beyond the age of 18.
“Children of war veterans at education institutions are being denied certain privileges in tertiary education due to delayed payment of fees,” he said.
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