Defence and Military Veterans Minister Angie Motshekga. Picture: Nigel Sibanda/The Citizen
Minister of Defence and Military Veterans, Angie Motshekga, reaffirmed her commitment to delivering 750 new houses to military veterans, addressing long-standing issues in the department’s housing programme.
Motshekga said this as she was grilled in Parliament about the department’s July pledge to deliver 750 houses to military veterans over the three-year Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) period.
The 750 houses are in addition to 1 095 houses that have been handed over to veterans since the inception of the department.
The minister said the department receives applications for qualifying veterans, using the department’s criteria. It then hands the list of applicants over to the Department of Human Settlements for the veterans to be prioritised.
“The mechanism that is in place is that the delivery of houses is monitored as follows: There is a recovery plan from the Department of Human Settlements that will fast-track the delivery of houses to these veterans,” Motshekga said.
“There are also mechanisms in place to strengthen the housing project monitored for all provinces.”
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The minister was asked about the partnership between provincial and local governments to implement the housing project because “those military veterans are suffering”.
Motshekga said mechanisms and memorandums of understanding (MOUs), from the previous administration, are already in place with different provinces to make sure the veterans are catered for.
“The programme is already run between the department, which provides the list of veterans who need houses, and it’s the Department of Human Settlements that prioritises them and implements the plans. It’s informed by the MOUs,” the minister said.
One of the challenges faced by the department is the verification and finalising of the database for military veterans.
When asked about the finalisation of the database, Motshekga agreed that it is disappointing and saddening that the database has not been finalised. She claimed the department is in a “vigorous process” to clean it.
“Until it has been cleaned by experts and verified, we are not able to do anything, but I can promise you that we share the sentiments you are raising. It’s unfair that more than 10 years down the line, we’re still talking about the database of a few people, but the truth of the matter is that the database is corrupted and not usable,” she said.
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The minister added that there is support from other agencies to help speed up the process.
She was also asked what will happen to the houses of the deceased military veterans who fought in the struggle and those who will die before the houses are delivered to them.
“It is sad that up until today, all the people who were willing to give their lives for this country still find themselves in this situation, so I fully agree with you, and I’m fully committed to making sure that we can make it,” Motshekga said.
The minister, however, said that she didn’t have an answer on whether veterans’ families will inherit the houses.
“I can assure you that in this administration, both myself and the deputy minister have prioritised military veterans to correct the wrongs that have been happening,” she said.
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