War vets hold interactive meeting with Minister Muchinguri-Kashiri 

Sikhumbuzo Moyo, Senior Reporter
THE burial of liberation war heroes at the Bulawayo provincial shrine in Nkulumane suburb has turned into an agonising experience for relatives as they have to dig the grave for their loved ones while some have to use their own resources to buy coffins.

This is despite a laid down Government procedure that must be followed when a war veteran dies which clearly states that the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works should take over the proceedings once someone has been declared a hero.

This emerged during an interactive meeting between war veterans and Defence and War Veterans Affairs Minister Cde Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri at Davies Hall last Thursday.

Minister Muchinguri-Kashiri, who also was clearly disturbed by the treatment of the liberation war heroes in Bulawayo, said it was not negotiable that every war veteran deserves a decent burial.

She said Government has a clear policy on the welfare of war veterans.

“When a war veteran passes on, that issue is communicated to the party, Zanu-PF by the relevant organs then the party informs Local Government ministry and this is the responsibility of the permanent secretary for provincial affairs and devolution to allocate and dig graves,” said Minister Muchinguri-Kashiri.

“The Ministry of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage through the National Museums and Monuments is responsible for tombstones and maintenance of graves. I will ask my officials why there are such challenges in Bulawayo, and this is why I am to appreciate the challenges that you are facing.

Minister Muchinguri-Kashiri who is also the national chairperson of Zanu-PF, said upon the death of a war veteran or ex-detainee, the State provides the equivalent US$500 in local currency to assist with burial requirements.

“I, therefore, want to understand why people are using their own resources, and why our war veterans are not getting funeral assistance. Government employees must respond to this and I won’t take this kindly, war veterans deserve better,” she said.

On the issue of school fees, Minister Muchinguri-Kashiri said in 2022, Government paid school fees for 7 309 war veterans’ children across the country.

“We paid out $1 723 564 205 for school fees last year and out of 7 309 children assisted, 1 591 children were for Bulawayo war veterans with Treasury spending $373 225 891,” she said.

Minister Muchinguri-Kashiri also took the opportunity to apprise the war veterans on the operationalisation of the Veterans of the Liberation Struggle Act (Chap 17:12) following its promulgation in September 2020.

The enactment of the Veterans of the Liberation Struggle Act was in pursuit of the vision of President Mnangagwa to move the people of Zimbabwe towards a prosperous and empowered middle-income society by 2030.

Minister Muchinguri-Kashiri said prior to the process of aligning laws to the Constitution, war veterans and ex-political prisoners, detainees and restrictees were administered by two separate pieces of legislation namely, the War Veterans Act (Chap 11:15) and the Ex-Political Prisoners, Detainees and Restrictees Act (Chap 17:10).

These acts have since been repealed and replaced by the all-encompassing Veterans of the Liberation Struggle Act (Chap 17:12) which recognises all the four categories of veterans of the liberation struggle as provided for in the Constitution.

“The intention of the Second Republic in aligning the Veterans of the Liberation Struggle Act to the Constitution is for Government to create a holistic framework for dealing with the welfare and economic empowerment of veterans of the liberation struggle,” said Minister Muchinguri-Kashiri.

“Through this Act, including the repealed legislation, veterans of the liberation struggle were and are still entitled to a monthly pension. Veterans and their children are also entitled to education benefits at Government schools or educational institutions, and in the event of them or their children enrolling at non-Government institutions or outside the country, they are permitted to educational benefits equal in amount to the fees payable at Government schools or institutions.”

Government capped school fees allowance for war veterans’ children at the equivalent of US$300 in local currency equivalent.

Minister Muchinguri-Kashiri said veterans, their spouses and children are entitled to full medical cover in the event of illness.

In the unfortunate occurrence of death, families of deceased veterans are entitled to funeral grants as well as 20 percent of land gazetted for resettlement.

“It is necessary to provide more detail on how these benefits are being provided. Given the background of two separate pieces of the legislation rated above, pensions for war veterans and ex-political prisoners, detainees and restrictees were previously determined differently,” said Minister Muchinguri-Kashiri.

She said the formula for determining the monthly pension for these categories has now been harmonised under an indexation framework that was improved by Government under the Second Republic.

“To ensure that whenever salaries and allowances of members of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces are adjusted, the monthly pension of war veterans is automatically increased. It should also be noted that while all pensions payable from the Consolidated Revenue Fund are administered directly by the PensionS Office in terms of the provisions of the Pensions Review Act, the Ministry of Defence and War Veterans Affairs is still responsible for initiating fundamental changes to pension policy for its clients,” she said.

The meeting was also attended by the Minister of State for Bulawayo Provincial Affairs and Devolution Judith Ncube, War Veterans League vice secretary, Cde Headman Moyo, War Veterans board chairman, Major-General (Rtd) Gibson Mashingaidze and other senior party and Government officials. —