War vets still wait in vain for pensions

The slow payouts of the long-awaited military veterans’ pensions could see the department of defence and military veterans forfeit R250 million to Treasury, while poverty-stricken war vets continue to suffer.

Little progress has been made since Deputy Minister Thabang Makwetla announced the start of pension payouts in April last year.

Of the thousands of applications received, so far, only 268 people have been paid.

Appearing before parliament’s defence portfolio committee last week, the Government Pensions Administration Agency (GPAA) told MPs that of the 19 000 applications, only 268 veterans had received their pension benefits.

GPAA administers funds and schemes on behalf of the Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF).

Many of the desperate former combatants said they are yet to be paid, years after sending in applications.

“Makwetla said once you fill in the forms and the department, GEPF and GPAA are satisfied and done, they won’t hesitate to pay, but we don’t see that happening,” said an applicant, Tsiamo Morake.

“Every time I call GEPF they tell me that my application is being captured on their system, and that I must call after two weeks. But you get told the very same story when you call again.”

Another applicant, Nomvula Kekana, said she was told by the GPAA that her application had been verified, but was yet to be captured into the system.

One of the 260 people who have been lucky to receive payments said their money was only backdated up to December last year, instead of April to coincide with Makwetla’s announcement.

“I have been paid monies backdated to December only. They’ve had my application for two years, they were supposed to backpay me up to April. We have been cheated,” said the beneficiary, who asked to remain unnamed.

He said when he inquired why he wasn’t paid for the past eight months, GPAA told him that payments were backdated up to the date when his application was captured into the database.

“It is daylight robbery,” he said. GPAA spokesperson Mack Lewele referred questions to the department. “These questions can be better responded to by the minister’s office,” he said.

Military veterans spokesperson Lebogang Mothapa had not responded to the query by the time of going to press.

In 2022, former deputy president David Mabuza told the National Assembly that there was a total of 44 369 military veterans whose details are in the certified personnel register and qualify to receive benefits as prescribed in the legislation.