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NewsDay

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Tongogaras not entitled to war vet funds – Parly told

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The family of one of Zimbabwe’s most celebrated liberation war heroes, Josiah Magama Tongogara, and those of others like him who died before 1997, are not entitled to get anything from the war veterans’ funds because they were not physically present to prove they fought for the liberation of this country. The disclosure was made […]

The family of one of Zimbabwe’s most celebrated liberation war heroes, Josiah Magama Tongogara, and those of others like him who died before 1997, are not entitled to get anything from the war veterans’ funds because they were not physically present to prove they fought for the liberation of this country.

The disclosure was made in Parliament yesterday by the director of War Veterans’ Affairs in the Ministry of Defence, Retired Major General Richard Ruwodo.

Ruwodo, who appeared before the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Defence and Home Affairs chaired by Glen View South MP Paul Madzore, said the War Veterans Act automatically disqualifies anybody that did not physically present themselves for vetting in 1997 from benefiting.

What this means is that dependants of heroes such as Tongogara did not get the $50 000 compensation lump sum disbursed in 1997, and do not get the monthly $160 pension as well as other benefits like education, medical and other assistance that the State provides to war veterans and families of those who died after 1997. Ruwodo said the “serious discrepancy” originated from the manner the War Veterans Act was crafted.

MPs expressed shock at the revelation and asked Ruwodo if it was real that Tongogara’s dependants did not benefit from the fund.

Ruwodo confirmed their fears saying: “Our Act has discrepancies in that it does not recognise war veterans who died prior to 1997 before vetting took place and it means national heroes like Tongogara are not catered for.

“The heroes who died prior to 1997 are catered for through the Department of Social Welfare.” In an interview with NewsDay after the committee meeting, Ruwodo said he was unhappy with the status quo and was bitter that Tongogara, whom he said was his commander during the war, had been treated like this by the laws of this country.

When NewsDay asked how the families of these fallen heroes were being catered for, Ruwodo said: “What it means is that the party (Zanu PF) grants them hero status and then Social Welfare comes in to take care of them.”

Ruwodo said there was nothing the War Veterans Department could do since the law was crafted in Parliament.

He appealed to the Legislature to have a relook at the Act so that it also took care of fallen heroes and war collaborators who were also not catered for.

Appearing before the same committee, Defence secretary Martin Rushwaya said his ministry had, for many years, faced serious hurdles in getting disbursements of funds for war veterans catered for in the Act.

“We have been submitting bids to Treasury, but since 1997 to 2012, we have not received any monetary support for projects,” he said. “In 2012 we budgeted for $28 million, but not a single cent was availed.”

He said a total of 28 922 children of war veterans needed school fees as stipulated by the Act, but the money always came late, resulting in demonstrations at the Ministry of Finance offices.

Some of the schools that the war veterans’ children went to included Prince Edward and the Zimbabwe Republic Police School, whose fees per term were $1 115 and $1 307 respectively.

Rushwaya said they were also struggling to meet medical and funeral expenses for war veterans. He also told the committee that the War Veterans Board, which was chaired by the late Retired General Solomon Mujuru, seconded by former Zipra commander Dumiso Dabengwa, had not been functional for two years, resulting in failure to solicit for funding.