Budget Vote Speech as delivered by Deputy Minister K Maphatsoe

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Budget Vote Speech as delivered by Deputy Minister K Maphatsoe

25 May 2017

The Honourable House Chair,
The Honourable Minister, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula
Honourable Members
Secretary of Defence,
Chief of the SANDF,
Acting Director-General of the DMV,
Members of the Plenary Defence Staff Council,
Officials of the DMV,
Guests,
The Minister has observed all protocols.

Today I stand before you to support the budget of the Minister of Defence and Military Veterans, Honourable Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula. My task is also to illustrate the budget of the Military Veterans Department, and give parliament a brief on the achievements, challenges and how we plan to resolve them.

From the outset, one should indicate that the role of this department is an honourable but complex one to address the immense challenges of those who fought and sacrificed for the democracy we all enjoy today.

This year as the Honorable Mapisa-Nqakula indicated, this objective has been allocated R622, 1 million.
In one’s presentation on the support of the Honorable Minister Mapisa-Nqakula, and to illustrate the DMV budget, one will cast his gaze a bit on the history of our struggle and reflect on the first units of the fading lights of that generation.

One talks here of the Luthuli detachment. It was the first Umkhonto we Sizwe unit, that alongside ZIPRA, the Zimbabwe Peoples’ Revolutionary Army, confronted the Rhodesian colonialist regime. That campaign ensured that the embers of freedom in our region, were ignited to cause an uproar of liberation that ultimately served to mobilize the masses, and inspired the people to free themselves, led by the national liberation movement.

Therefore, I dedicate this presentation to the heroes and heroines of the Luthuli Detachment of the historical glorious Peoples’ Army, Umkhonto we Sizwe. This is the 50th anniversary of the Wankie/Sipolilo campaign, which was a beacon to the armed struggle whereby the then oppressed of our country, were able to face the oppressors toe to toe, with modern weapons of war.

We recall the names of Chris Hani, Flag Boshielo, Basil February, and Major General Pitso amongst those who fought and stood firm leading that campaign. In honouring those who fought for freedom, by alleviating their plight and seeing to it that they taste the fruits of freedom, we need to accelerate the benefits of military veterans.

It is our considered opinion that these benefits must accrue first to those who are at the twilight of their lives, and importantly those who fought on the side of the liberation forces. This is because they never benefitted from any pensions or salaries. They were volunteers who sacrificed for our freedom; All of us as we are here.

Honourable Chairperson, the task of addressing the needs of military veterans is huge and complex, and the money allocated could just not be enough. However beyond the inadequacy of the allocated budget, we also have to deal with firming and streamlining our systems such that the benefits reach credible military veterans.

This means we must prioritise their needs and while ensuring that what we do, also fits into the National Development Plan, which must be the platform for growing our economy. With this approach, we hope to make our contribution in the development of our economy, without which we cannot even start to talk about the benefits of the military veterans and their beneficiaries.

House Chair, the expenditure of our budget allocation has improved considerably this year in comparison to the earlier years. In 2016/17 financial year we spent 85% in comparison with 59% in 2015/16.

To this extent, the DMV Education Support Program has been allocated R108, 1 million.
In 2014, the education support of the DMV was accessed by only about 645 beneficiaries. Today the number of beneficiaries in this program stands to benefit more than 7212. In this number military veterans are participants as well as their children. This benefit has created a beautiful problem for us. It challenges our systems as well as budget.

Since 2014 this program has produced 74 tertiary graduates in various disciplines from almost all provinces of our country. In the public gallery we have some of those who benefitted present. May they please stand up. Thank you.

The Health and Wellness Program has been allocated R52 million.
This program is difficult yet very critical given the physical, emotional and psychological condition of military veterans as people who have encountered severe stress in their occupation as soldiers. Within the context of this program, 15740 were impacted upon by this program.
It needs creative thinking on how to optimise the budget to cover the length and breadth of our country where military veterans are located. Currently we use the budget to enable the military veterans to access military health facilities. We are still investigating various possibilities to broaden this access.

The Housing Benefit has been allocated R73, 2 million.
Housing is a critical needs for veterans, yet the DMV does not have a developer status. This benefit needs a combined approach with the Department of Human Settlements, provincial and local authorities. So far under very difficult conditions, we have delivered 130 houses nation- wide. We support the Minister of Human Settlements, Honourable Lindiwe Sisulu in her initiatives to accelerate veterans housing.

We have also devised bond rescue in which we save the houses of those military veterans who qualify for housing but after buying them, cannot cope with the bond payments. We rescue them only up to the amount they qualify for as the base amount of our housing cost. Since its inception in 2015, this aspect of the housing program has saved 114 military veterans’ houses.

Social Relief of Distress has been allocated R24 million.
This is a new program which did not exist before 2014. It is a special focused on those military veterans who are largely below the poverty datum line and in need of immediate help to at least survive on day to day basis. In the last year this special intervention assisted 2243 who on a monthly basis received a grant to purchase the necessary groceries. This form of relief is strictly monitored and can only be accessed until benefiting military veterans have been assisted to be self-sufficient.
We hold that the DMV in partnership with other relevant departments and the private sector, must come together to find sustainable ways, to ensure that military veterans never fall through the net and find themselves in such a situation of grinding poverty.

Compensation of Injuries benefitted 161 military veterans to date. This is a benefit written into the Military Veterans’ Act of 2011 and started to be rolled out in 2015.

The Castle Control Board
The DMV played a critical role in the commemoration of the 350th year of the existence of the Cape Castle. This is an enduring symbol of our more than three centuries of our colonization and racist apartheid oppression. The Castle is in the process of being turned into a centre of memory.

The Military Veterans’ Act of 2011 amendment process
The DMV has started the process of amending the Military Veterans’ Act 18 of 2011 to ensure that it is properly aligned within the context of the Constitution of the Republic, and the deepening needs of military veterans.

May I thank the Minister of Defence and Military Veterans, my party the African National Congress, the colleagues in my office, and the Department of Military Veterans for the steadfast support they have been giving me, since I was honoured by the President of the Republic Honourable Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma, to serve in this position of responsibility.

I’m truly humbled.

I thank you all