THE distribution of bicycles and food hampers to war veterans ahead of Zimbabwe’s Independence Day celebrations in Maphisa on Saturday has sparked outrage, with some describing the gesture as an insult to liberation war veterans.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa presided over the handover ceremony, distributing hundreds of bicycles, grocery hampers and three model houses to war veterans.
“If you give a war veteran with one leg or one hand a bicycle, how will that person ride it? It could have been better if they had been given wheelchairs or artificial limbs because many lost their limbs during the war,” Zipra ex-combatant and former MDC-N Matabeleland South provincial chairperson Pilate Ndebele told Southern Eye.
“When you give them a bicycle, what do you expect them to do with it.
“The government should have thought wisely about what it should do for the war veterans as we celebrate the independence they fought so hard for. We fought for this freedom and they must think about us too.”
Ndebele said Mnangagwa should engage war veterans to understand their needs, adding that many former combatants were not amused by the donation given their advanced ages.
“The war veterans should go to hospitals and find medicine rather than be given bicycles they are no longer able to ride.
“When the government provides medication and ambulances to the communities, it will be the best benefit, especially for war veterans, many of whom are now fighting illnesses.
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“There are some women who are now 80 years old, how can they use those bicycles? The bikes may be for those around 65 years old. The government must treat war veterans properly. It pains me that a person with one leg is given a bicycle, for what?”
Gukurahundi survivor and veteran educationist Ben Moyo said he found the bicycle donation puzzling.
“I am not sure if all of them will be given. Secondly, the elite are being given GD6 vehicles. It's Animal Farm all over again, in my view. War veterans need medical aid that works. They have many ailments, and the bicycles won't help them to get treatment,” he said.
Zapu Bulawayo provincial secretary Vivian Siziba said the bicycle donation was an inconsiderate gesture to freedom fighters who sacrificed so much for the
country.
“In fact, it was very inconsiderate and an insult. The demobilised askaris (East African native soldiers serving a European power) were treated far better than ex-combatants who fought for independence and freedom and were demobilised after World War II. Askaris, for their sacrifices, were rewarded with bicycles and other material things,” Siziba said.
“Bicycles in those days were scarce and treasured assets, which gave the askaris a certain degree of respect in the community.
“Not after 46 years, when the majority of ex-combatants can't even ride them. Those bicycles could better serve secondary school learners who walk between 15 and 20km to the nearest school.”
