The Sunday News
Mthabisi Tshuma, Gwanda Reporter
WAR veterans, ex-detainees and collaborators will soon meet President Emmerson Mnangagwa to discuss welfare issues and projects they can undertake to improve their lives.
Speaking to war veterans in Gwanda on Thursday, war veterans association secretary-general and also Zanu-PF National War Veterans secretary Cde Victor Matemadanda said many freedom fighters were still living in abject poverty and there was a need to address their concerns.
“If you want to see the poorest people in our country, look for freedom fighters. We went for 37 years with Mugabe and he just used a simple tactic of divide and rule. Our investment as the veterans of the liberation struggle is our children,” he said.
Cde Matemadanda said with Zimbabwe open for business, the former freedom fighters can be the investors. He said a number of freedom fighters were also now educated and should be employed in some of the companies.
“A number of comrades are now educated and we have said if there are vacancies within the Ministry (war veterans) they should be employed. We will be having district field officers in the near future. This will create jobs for the freedom fighters, children of the war veterans and their widows. We also need to be investors by teaming up in our farms and practising mining at the highest level,” said Cde Matemadanda.
He said the squabbles associated with the Matabeleland South Province War Veterans Association province should come to an end. Previously there was a group that was against the leadership of Cde Section Ncube.
“How many people can be provincial chairperson at a time? Just one. We cannot stop our agenda of sending the children of war veterans to school and our welfare business because of petty things. We can’t. We need freedom fighters who are disciplined because no war veteran failed training or you would not be here,” he said.
Some of the war veterans complained that their children were failing to attend lessons as some schools were sending them home over non-payment of fees. The director of welfare services in the war veterans association, Cde Edson Mbedzi, said a number of projects have been lined up by the Government to benefit the war veterans association.
“A number of projects have been set up that include availing of chicks and the chicken feed to 50 veterans of the liberation struggle from the province with a ready market on standby. The Beitbridge-Chirundu highway which is set to commence shortly will see a quarry plant being set up in Masvingo and comrades will be recruited to work there,” he said.
War collaborators who were not vetted are expected to be vetted before the harmonised elections as some were in South Africa and Botswana during the vetting period.-@mthabisi_mthire.
