The Deputy Minister of Defence and Military Veterans to launch the Ex-Combatants Foundation

13 November 2013

The Minister of Defence and Military Veterans, Mr Thabang Makwetla will officially launch the Ex –Combatant Foundation at the Birchwood Hotel & Conference Centre on the 15 November 2013 at 18h30. The theme of the launch is “Promotion of nation building and reconciliation".

The Executive Mayor of Ekurhuleni, Clr Mondli Gungubele, the former NAFCOC President Mr Lawrence Mavundla, the recently elected President of the reconstituted South African National Military Veterans Association (SANMVA) Mr Kebby Maphatsoe and the President Dr Mathole Motshekga are all expected to deliver speeches.

The Ex-Combatant Foundation is an NGO formed to assist the families before, during and after the exhumations of the freedom fighters and those who lost their lives during the fight against Apartheid. The Foundation focuses on the welfare of the families of the former liberation freedom fighters most of whom are military veterans.

The role of the Foundation is to assist in bringing closure to the pain inflicted by state sponsored violence of apartheid regime. The Foundation works on both the internal (SA) and external cases of those persons who are missing following the liberation struggle as well as those who were buried in exile.

"The establishment and launch of the Foundation is indeed an important milestone for military veterans and the Department of Military Veterans in particular. It will certainly go a long way in helping the DMV advance its course of providing effective and efficient counselling services, honouring and memorialising Military Veterans as well burial, support as stipulated in Section 5 of the Military Veterans Act 18 of 2011”. says the Deputy Minister of Defence and Military Veterans Mr Thabang Makwetla.

The Foundation works in partnership with the Missing Persons Person Task Team (MPTT) of the National Prosecuting Authority and The Argentinean Forensic Anthropology Team. Furthermore the Foundation would tackle cases outside the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC which cannot be funded by government as per the current Regulations.

"The Foundation will handle the non-TRC cases to ensure that all those who took part in the liberation struggle are treated equally and given the same honour and respect through the mobilisation of the necessary financial, technical and social resources within and outside government. We want to make sure that there is no difference in the eyes of the general members of the public between those who fell in the liberation struggle who are TRC and Non-TRC cases." says the CEO of the Foundation Mr Brian Gezani Ndlovu.

The Foundation is launching with the aim of raising awareness, mobilising funds to support the programmes which include bringing back to their families those who died during the cause of the liberation struggle both inside and outside the borders of South Africa.

“The work of the Foundation helps in three ways namely: proper recording of the liberation struggle history, memorialisation and promotion of reconciliation and closure of the painful chapter amongst scores of families who lost their dear ones in the course of struggle" says CEO Ndlovu.