War Veterans meet over Bill

WAR VETERANS have written to the Clerk of Parliament seeking to have their interests adequately represented in the drafting of the Veterans of the Liberation Struggle Bill.

The Veterans of the Liberation Struggle Bill is part of Government’s efforts to provide for the welfare of all war veterans as required by the Constitution.

In an interview, Zanu PF’s secretary for the Welfare Services for War Veterans, War Collaborators, Ex-political Prisoners, Detainees and Restrictees Cde Douglas Mahiya said consultations for the Bill had been done without their input.

Cde Mahiya said Parliament had done public hearings on the Bill, but had not informed or involved the war veterans in any consultations.

“It is unfortunate that public hearings where conducted without our input,” he said.

“The consultations are being rushed for reasons we do not know.

“The parliamentary portfolio committee did not inform us. We have written to the Clerk of Parliament seeking direct presentation of our feelings about the Bill to the committee.”

Cde Mahiya said the draft Bill had a number of anomalies and they had since engaged the party’s legal department. He said a meeting will be convened at the party’s headquarters today to make recommendations and extensively deliberate on the Bill.

“We have since discovered that there are a lot of anomalies and a copy shall be made available on February 4 because we have invited senior war veterans, the ones that commanded the liberation struggle, the high command and general staff to discuss that extensively and be able to make our recommendations as to what we want done,” said Cde Mahiya.

“We will come up with a revised copy of what we think is best to be included in the Bill on the Veterans of the Liberation Struggle.”

Cde Mahiya said the existing draft Bill did not represent interests of war veterans and more needed to be done to ensure their interests and inputs were reflected in the Bill.