Africa-Press – South-Africa. Defence Minister Thandi Modise said the process to distribute the pension payout for military veterans would commence 30 days after it was tabled in Parliament.
In November, Deputy President David Mabuza announced the military veterans’ pension fund had been approved, and payments would be made in December.
At a press conference on Thursday, Modise said the delay resulted from “unavoidable administrative processes”.
The processes included the requirement that the draft pension regulations and the Pension Benefit Access form should be tabled in Parliament.
She said it was tabled in Parliament in early December.
“This will, in turn, legalise the operationalisation of the pension payout to military veterans.
“The department will take in applications and process them accordingly through the government pension processes and system.”
In October last year, Umkhonto we Sizwe members held Modise, her deputy, Thabang Makwetla, and Minister in the Presidency Mondli Gungubele hostage over the non-payment of pensions and benefits.
A police task team had to intervene, and over 50 people were arrested.
A ministerial task team was appointed to look into the pension issues.
The amounts to be unlocked are R27 million to be made available in the 2022/23 financial year, R102 million in the 2023/24 financial year, and R109 million in the 2024/25 financial year.
“The ministry acknowledges that it was its intention and wish to disburse the pension payouts by 1 December as it was originally communicated by the deputy president,” the statement said.
“Nonetheless, consistent with our constitutional injunction to redress our past and honour those that fought for freedom, the Military Veterans was enacted in 2011, directing the government to roll out socio-economic benefits to the community of military veterans.
“It is regrettable that the military veterans’ pension had not been budgeted for in previous years.
“Through the intervention of the Presidential Task Team, priority will be given to members of the former non-statutory forces as the main target group to access this benefit. This military veterans’ pension will redress the imbalances of the past and bring to a realisation a benefit provided for in the Military Veterans Act.”
The minister reassured the vets that the “government remains fully committed to the provision of the pension benefit to Military Veterans” – and that it has begun the necessary administrative processes.
“Government is fully conscious and aware of the financial challenges facing Military Veterans, particularly in the current difficult economic times, characterised by poor economic growth, joblessness and persistent poverty.”
Meanwhile, in a statement on Tuesday, the DA’s Maliyakhe Shelembe said the proposed pension benefits regulations were unfair and unconstitutional as the draft policy “has completely left out statutory forces”.
Responding to this, Modise said: “No military vet from statuary forces [will go] without a pension. This is on the presumption that these members already received a stat pension.”
She said vets could not “double-dip” their pensions.
“Welfare was never intended for stat forces, but for destitute, non-stat military forces. We cannot allow, in all fairness, a member with a pension… If your pension is higher than the special pension, you need to choose which pension you want to be on – no double dipping.”
The Presidential Task Team resolved that military veterans be paid the Social Relief of Distress support amount of R 1 250 per month to augment their pension payout “during the current challenging economic situation”.
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