The Department of Military Veterans (DMV) blames “budgetary constraints” and regulations needing review for non-payment of what it calls the “disbursement of military veterans’ pension”.
A 9 July DMV statement, signed off by Mxolisi Mkhonza, Acting Head of Communication, responds to “concerns raised by approximately 300 military veterans” who seemingly didn’t receive pension payments. The statement does not specify when or for how long the old soldiers have gone without a benefit legally due to them. It does, however, acknowledge the hardship veterans face, recognising their “frustration”.
“This benefit is a vital intervention aimed at restoring dignity and improving the quality of life of those who served this country with honour,” it reads in part, putting the delay at the door of budgetary constraints “under which the DMV currently finds itself”.
“It has become evident that the regulations governing the disbursement of the military veterans’ pension need to be reviewed. Once this process is complete, the DMV will resume the roll-out of the military veterans’ pension, ensuring that deserving military veterans receive the financial assistance they are entitled to.”
The pension benefit, one of a number which include healthcare, subsidised public transport and burial assistance, was implemented in November 2023. To date, according to the Mkhonza statement, “over 4 378 military veterans have successfully received their pensions” to the value of R217 million.
With the spectre of administration, called for by Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Defence and Military Veterans (PCDMV), looming over the DMV, it “continues to work closely with the Government Pensions Administration Agency (GPAA) to process and pay new beneficiaries as they are verified”.
“In future, we appeal to military veterans to engage directly with the GPAA to check on the status of their applications and to raise any challenges so that they can be addressed timeously,” the DMV said.
Earlier this week the DMV was taken to task for non-performance by Jane Mananiso, chair of the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) Select Committee on Security and Justice (SCSJ). She told a Parliamentary security and justice cluster briefing her committee would scrutinise veteran benefit allocations as part of its efforts to hold the DMV “accountable for making real progress”.
In her defence budget vote debate on 9 July, Defence and Military Veterans Minister Angie Motshekga said that for the 2025/26 financial year, the veterans’ department has been allocated R878 million.
Motshekga said a team has been established to assist the Department to unlock the challenges it is facing. “The database workstream of the Presidential Task Team is currently in the process of verifying military veterans across the country having resumed with the North West province, to be followed by Free State in the coming weeks. Parallel to the verification we are also embarking on cleansing the existing national military veterans’ database to enhance its integrity.”
In terms of the overall budget, National Treasury notes that “the department plans to intensify the rollout of military veterans pensions with the aim of reaching 9 600 deserving military veterans or their dependants by 2027/28. In accordance with section 3(1)(c) of the Military Veterans Act, 2011, the means test will be applied to ensure this benefit is directed towards the most deserving,” Motshekga stated.
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