Date: 29 September 2013
Venue: Birchwood Conference Center
Comrades, 5 years ago we met in Booysens. Johannesburg to consider and finally agreed to structure ourselves into a united force of military veterans. That was not easy, because we were strangers to each other, and came together from different backgrounds and with different perspectives. We were former combatants meeting for the first time outside our uniforms, in attempts to extend a hand of solidarity to each other.
However, we were prepared to surmount that which divided us, and unite to ensure that the dignity of military veterans is restored, that they are acknowledged, memorialized and given all the benefits that befits people who stood at the forefront of conflict, to bring to an end, an order that was proclaimed a crime against humanity, while our other compatriots, equally stood in defence of that order.
We met knowing fully well that the level of mistrust raging between us, informed us with different perspectives, on why we should meet and declare the unity of the military veterans. Then, without doubt the perspectives that informed us, were laden with doubts, misgivings and fears of betrayal. But we persisted with courage as South Africans, and ultimately succeeded, to cement the bonds between ourselves as individuals, and as representatives of the formations we represented.
From the onset, we had organizational culture differences, we experienced different values, we observed different traditions, and did not really see things from a similar angle. We could only endure our differences up to a certain point, as we also had to differ on many instances. But we learnt to respect the value th29at was brought to the table by each constituent formation, and treasure the wisdom that was contributed in our deliberations by each individual in our leadership collective.
The past 5 years, indeed has been instructive and taught us, amongst many other lessons, the important lesson that we as military veterans, former adversaries, and comrades in a bloody conflict, today must stand to unite, symbolise, uphold and promote peace and peaceful development in our society. As we stood to carry and operate weapons of war in the past, we proceeded to set on a path to shake hands and start to look at our world with the same eyes, and the same understanding.
We have learnt in the past 5 years that it is not just necessary and important to live with each other, but we must build bridges amongst ourselves, and even beyond ourselves as a powerful display and honour of the new struggle for peace, unity and prosperity in South Africa, and beyond the borders of our country. We would like to believe that regardless of the challenges we met, we carried out the mandate of our founding conference, and the lessons we learnt in practice, with commitment and experienced clearly satisfactory outcomes.
However, as successes increase, we also see the dangerous potential of divisions trying to emerge within our constituent member associations. We have tried to analyse this unwelcome trend and realized that, it has become a sub-culture for those who are defeated in our democratic practices, to attempt to seek power by all means, even outside the democratic principles that guide us as military veterans. We have also realized that poverty and in some instance, simple greed drive people to defy democracy in attempts to seek what they perceive as an easy way forward to feed themselves, and not serve the military veterans.
But we believe, the proper and full implementation of the new Military Veterans’ Act , 18 of 2011, will go a long way in assisting us to resolve the socio-economic needs of military veterans, and therefore, decrease the temptation to fight for power for personal reasons at all costs. We must never allow the temptation of myopic short term gains, to destabilize the movement of military veterans. Our cause is greater in the society, in our region, the continent and indeed, the world.
That we as forces which were ranged against each other in war, are able to come together, uphold and promote peace, is a legacy that we should jealously guard and be proud of, not merely for ourselves, but in the main, as an investment we are making to contribute towards our society, to treasure peace in our country, and acknowledge that great sacrifices were made to attain it. Our role as military veterans, is to promote unity, peace, tolerance and the respect of democracy and the upholding of the Constitution of the Republic.
Comrades, when we came together on September 2008, we have had a number of Ministers of Defence, and Deputy Ministers of Defence, who were supposed to have been responsible for the needs of military veterans. But we cannot vouch that they were sensitive to our needs. Not until the African National Congress 2009 reconfigured administration, which upon its establishment, introduced political incumbents who cooperated with us, and walked the path with us, up to this chapter which we are about to close and open a new one.
Just to try to paint a detail on the above summary introduction, one would try to illustrate and give practical meaning to our journey since 2008 up to the present. This, one would like to do, to give a political perspective on the environment that we had to challenge, navigate and negotiate until we found more commonality between ourselves and the Department of Military Veterans.
As far back as 2007, we felt the alienation between ourselves and the Directorate of Military Veterans, operating as a section within the Ministry of Defence. As Mkhonto we Sizwe Military Veterans Association, residing within the political home of the ruling party the ANC, we felt obliged to challenge the repealed Military Veterans’ Act of 1999, and to further advocate for an independent Ministry of Military Veterans. We also realized that to achieve this noble goal for all the military veterans of our country, we had to also call for the unity of all military veterans of our country.
Our efforts succeeded when we came together and established the South African Military Veterans Association. We were all overjoyed, when we agreed, even with a sense of doubt that our first goal, to which we resolved was to make a strong united call for the Ministry of Military Veterans. We lobbied hard, we trampled on a few toes and had ours trampled upon too. But in the final outcome we succeeded, when President Jacob Zuma after the 2009 National elections, at his announcement of his cabinet, made it known that there was a new ministry, called the Ministry of Defence and Military Veterans.
Shortly after this announcement in 2009 we started advocacy on the need to draft a new military veterans’ policy, to guide the department and reconfigure its legislative framework, with the need to formulate a new bill on military veterans. This led to the establishment of the Ministerial Task Team, by the then Minister of Defence, Dr Lindiwe Sisulu, and her Deputy Minister, Mr. Thabang Makwetla. SANMVA was ably represented, and fully participated in the MTT.
Our intense lobby in the structures of the ruling party saw the acknowledgement of the role of the military and its veterans in the society. This came in the form of the Military Day March Past Parade, which was washed out by rain on the 16 December 2010. However this was compensated by the 27th April, Freedom Day March Past parade which was held in front of the Union Buildings. It was in this occasion, where the Commander in Chief of the South African National Defence Force, and Patron in Chief of the South African National Military Veterans Association, President Jacob Zuma, took the salute, and the veterans for the first time had worn their new common uniform.
This occasion might have been viewed by some as just a parade, but to us it was part of an unfolding dream to bring equality, comradeship and unity among the military veterans, united under the banner of SANMVA, for the first time in public, for that matter, on a day declared Freedom Day, in our new and united country.
Comrades, last we saw the fruition of yet another venture that we intensely lobbied for. It is fact that the Non Statutory Component of the SANDF, were established without ranks and medals because of its guerrilla nature. Our lobby was to bring dignity to the efforts of those who heroically participated in those formations, through the granting of medals of honour to them. This venture succeeded, as we saw the founders of MK, and the members of its foremost detachment, the Luthuli Detachment, being honoured with different classes of medals, conferred by the President of the Republic upon them.
Founders and former members of the Azanian Peoples Liberation Army (APLA) are next in line for this honour, and one believes the necessary structure for that purpose is being put in place by the department. It is therefore logical that founders and former members of the Azanian Liberation Army (AZANLA) will follow.
May we just look back a little, without losing the sequence of our focus, and refer to our international activities. In 2009, in pursuit of our internationalist principle, as enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic, we took it upon ourselves as SANMVA to host a regional workshop of the military veterans in the Southern African Development Community (SADC). This important work stalled when the General Bhengu, responsible for the International Desk was taken ill. However it has been given a new impetus with comrade Thembile Magingxa, leading a very consistent effort to revive the venture.
We see this initiative as very essential, to divert the energies of military veterans into peace building campaigns, and social cohesion in the individual countries of the region. We mean to give the idea of military veterans a new level of respectability and responsibility, to ensure that those who enjoy the respect and confidence of the armed forces, are not misled and misused to lead infamous attempts to mount coup de tats. Our continent is tired with unpopular and repressive military regimes, and those who tempt the veterans into insidious schemes of war, must be frustrated by our unity and peace building efforts at every turn, fold and corner.
This initiative and great noble ideal, was given a boost, when this year, 2013, SANMVA delegation went to the World Veterans’ Federation meeting held in Jordan. SANMVA was given a full membership, and the responsibility to speak on behalf and organize all the military veterans on the continent. Our ideals are noble, our aims are high, and we mean to do all in our capabilities to realize them.
Comrades we must also speak about the economic and social needs of military veterans that were achieved in the past 5 years, even though we view them as minimal, considering the grinding poverty within which many military veterans, especially from the NSF find themselves. We have to point out that a number of Provincial governments like the Free State Province and other have allocated houses, and provided jobs to the military veterans.
We have to thank them from our hearts, and they include Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) which has employed a huge number of military veterans. As we speak some of them are currently undergoing training to perform their assigned duties.
Several Provincial governments, in line with the Military Veterans’ Act 18 of 2011, have appointed responsible people within the Premier’s Offices to handle military veterans’ issues. In the same vein, several municipalities have established military veteran’s desks, to ensure that military veterans are sought out to benefit from business and employment opportunities. We urge more to align themselves with the prescripts of the Act which makes it quite clear that military veterans do not need the mercy of the society but deserves the support of the state and the society for the sacrifice they voluntarily offered for the attainment of our valuable democracy.
May we all stand up at this moment, and offer a minute of prayer or meditation for the first Commander in Chief of MK, first Commander in Chief of the SANDF and the first President of the democratic Republic of South Africa. Thank you.
Comrades, today as we assembled here to look back at the past 5 years, we need to celebrate ourselves, that we started from nothing, but our sincere will to succeed, and yet we have consistently been striving for unity, constitutionality and the plight of the military veterans. We have held our mid term council as was prescribed by our constitution of SANMVA. Today, in September, not a year later or earlier, not a month earlier or later, we are proud to meet yet another injunction of our SANMVA constitution to hold our Conference exactly 5 years after this National Executive Committee was elected by our Inaguaral Conference held at Booysens Hotel on the 28th September 2008.
Today as we hold this Conference let us stand up as we close this chapter of our organization, to open another chapter of our organization to be re-established in line with the new Act which we brought into being.
I thank you.
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