WAR veterans in Zimbabwe have become synonymous with making outrageous demands as if the execution of the liberation war was exclusive to them, and that is unacceptable.
NewsDay Comment
While Zimbabweans appreciate their contribution to the liberation of the country, they also have to be reasonable because some of the demands that they are making are just outrageous. It is unheard of that ex-combatants would demand a clause which clearly states that there should be a 20% quota for war veterans in Parliament and all government institutions just as has been the case with women and the youth.
This is just like an attempt to drag us back to the Stone Age, and President Emmerson Mnangagwa should not allow them to have their way on this one. They should actually be more concerned about coming up with ideas on how to pull the country out of the economic mess. But for too many years, their demands have just been selfish and they never considered the negative impact these demands had on the economy.
Right now we should be looking to the future and yet they want to drag us into the past. It is not their sole responsibility to safeguard revolutionary values and interests as they think. It’s a national responsibility for every Zimbabwean. This message should be put across to them very strongly.
They also want to be exempted from paying land tax, vehicle import duty and tollgate fees and also demand automatic promotion in government institutions. Their demands, it appears, never end.
The money they got in 1997, which contributed to the country’s economic collapse, did not satisfy them and ever since, they have been making more and more absurd demands.
When will the madness end?
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Promotion should be based purely on merit. Having fought the war does not necessarily mean one is good at their job and deserve promotion.
It also does not follow that everyone that fought the war is a good farmer and should get land. Land is a national asset that should be used productively for the good of the nation rather than to soothe people’s personal egos.
