Leader of the Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association, Jabulani Sibanda, has bemoaned the sorry state of most Provincial Heroes’ Acres throughout the country, saying the monuments were no longer worth their status.
Sibanda’s sentiments came as the country prepares for Heroes’ and Defence Forces’ Days to be commemorated today and tomorrow, respectively.
“The heroes’ acres are in a bad state,” said Sibanda. “Most of them have not been completed with most graves still yet to have tombstones and names tagged on them. We are not happy with the state of the graves that those gallant fighters in the provincial acres are buried in.”
He said the monthly allowances war veterans were getting were not enough. War veterans receive pensions ranging between $100 and $160 per month while spouses of deceased war veterans get $85 per month.
“The percentage that those who were injured in the liberation war (are given) is similar to those of workers who worked in industrial sites,” said Sibanda.
“The difference however is that those retired industrial workers earned monthly salaries and got their pensions unlike the war veterans who were living in the bush, with no salaries and medical aid until 1980.”
