Military veterans of Botswana to empower ex-soldiers

As a majority of ex-soldiers are reported to be struggling and have turned destitute, the Military Veterans of Botswana in partnership with Growth Force Company has vowed to empower members to improve their lives.

Due to the nature of their military work commitments, most of the ex-soldiers are said to have left employment without hardly creating a life for themselves outside the barracks. As a result, the former soldiers are currently fighting for placement in the Ipelegeng programme.

During a press conference that was held at Arirang Restaurant on Friday, chairperson of Military Veterans of Botswana, retired Brigadier Thulaganyo Masisi said a majority of ex-soldiers were forced to retire at a young age when most of them had not yet accumulated enough pension to sustain their lives thereafter hence have turned destitute predominately those from lower ranks.

Masisi stated that the Botswana Defence Force (BDF) Act initially dictated that members retire from 45 to 55 years when they have barely accumulated enough hence the struggle, especially for those in the lower ranks.

“These people have sacrificed their time and physical well-being while in service hence the move by the association to empower them. We have partnered with Growth Force Company from South Africa to empower our members because they no longer have any source of income and they need assistance as life becomes difficult every day,” he said.

He stated that their intention is for them to have a source of income and in that regard, they have successfully convinced Growth Force Company, collaborated with them and intend to do a couple of projects which are currently in the infancy stage.

“The whole purpose is to create employment, help them meet the challenges of life because of the situation we found them in. It is not that they mismanaged what they had, it was too little to meet the challenges of today,” Masisi said. “Some members are looking for jobs in areas like Ipelegeng and those were capable soldiers who participated both in the country and outside the country. They had to work very hard to eradicate poaching, bring peace and stability in the region for example in Somalia, Lesotho, South Sudan, and at the 1994 elections of South Africa to mention but a few.” Representing Growth Force that has now been established in Botswana, CEO and founder of the company, Unathi Mantanga said they are involved in a number of sectors including agriculture and they have partnered with the military veterans association to roll out the programme.

For his part, the company’s head of business development, Sam Naicker said they have established that most people do not have access to ways of empowering themselves from a business perspective.

“We have formed a company with people with different skills and the resources to ensure that we can grow the business itself. We have financial resources, got access to funding to ensure that when we partner with communities we bring in skills to empower them as well. We have partnered with this association to empower its members and skill and resource them to become business farmers or whatever business they want,” he said.

Naicker added they have successfully done this in the Eastern Cape, South Africa and Zambia, partnered with communities without resources and make them become sustainable businesses. “We are going to identify the right people to ensure they have the potential to become farmers and skill them. We leave them at a stage where they can carry their businesses on their own,” he said.