Bleak future for military veterans’ families as ‘uncaring’ department fails to pay school fees

Unpaid tuition fees for dependents of military veterans are piling up, along with threats of legal action, leaving destitute families in debt.

The Military Veterans Act places responsibility on the department to help veterans and their families captured in its database.

The extensive benefits for qualifying former combatants and all ex-members of the previous defence force and their dependents include health, housing and education benefits for both school and tertiary levels.

‘I am stressed’

Mother of two Nomvula Kekana from Ekurhuleni says she has been to the Department of Defence and Military Veterans head office in Pretoria several times to get the fees paid but to no avail.

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Her 18-year-old son is in Grade 11, while her daughter, aged 12, is in Grade 7.

“It is almost September with no payments, I am stressed. The call centre lines are never answered, they do not reply to e-mails either.

“My experience with the department has convinced me that they are uncaring when it comes to veterans and their families,” she said.

While her son’s high school has been sympathetic following their father’s death, the primary school is sending her letters of demand.

‘Pay or face lawyers’

This week, the primary school urged her to pay up or face the law.

“Dear parent, please ensure you pay school fees to avoid being listed and referred to lawyers for retrieval. Thank you,” read the message from the school.

Both schools’ statements of accounts, seen by The Citizen, show thousands of rands in overdue amounts.

Annual fees for the primary school cost almost R10 000, while the high school costs just over R11 000.

She said she enquired in May as to why the fees have not been paid.

“I received a WhatsApp message in June stating that my daughter’s fees have been paid, while my son’s was still being processed.

“Both schools say no payment has been received to date. I asked the department for proof of payment, but nothing has been forthcoming.

“How will I get a job if I am handed over to debt collectors? Where will I get the money to also pay the lawyers’ fees and the spiralling debt?

“My children come back from school with statements of debt every month. This is affecting them terribly,” she said.

The unemployed mom said the family had relied on her late husband’s military pension and income from his part-time job in the security industry.

“He stopped working in 2020 after falling ill. My relatives help out wherever they can as I continue to hunt for a job.

“I am in debt because of a government that fails to carry out its promises to the families of military veterans. This is stressful, I worry all the time.”

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The former freedom fighter died of cancer in 2021, leaving Kekana with no choice but to apply for education funding at the department.

Kekana said the applications were finally approved last year for the 2023 academic year.

‘My future is destroyed’

Another dependent, 27-year-old Siyamcela Mdolo in Lusikisiki, Eastern Cape, said he spent the period between 2018 and 2021 trying to get the department to pay his college fees.

“I am jaded. My father is a veteran, he is still alive and still awaits his military pension after almost three decades.

“I decided to attend a TVET college and study towards a better future, but the military veterans [department] has destroyed my dream,” said Mdolo.

He said he applied for funding as a dependent in 2018.

His application was approved and he went on to register for a management course at Ingwe TVET College in Lusikisiki in 2020.

“I submitted all the required documents for funding and a few months later I was told it was approved. However, no payments were made to the college,” he said.

He has travelled twice to the Pretoria office from Lusikisiki to seek answers, he added.

“The first time I waited for hours to be assisted, only to be told that my file is empty. I had to ask for money to make another set of copies and resubmit.

“I returned a few months later in 2020 because I was getting no feedback, and no one was answering the phone. I was told I will soon be sorted, but nothing happened still.”

According to the department’s website, the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (Nsfas) was appointed in 2013 to administer its bursary funding at tertiary institutions.

Mdolo said he had no choice but to drop out towards the end of his first year because of non-payment.

He now works as a security guard at a local retailer to help support his family.

“I have a tuition fee debt hanging over my head, it is tough,” he said.

Department in shambles

Military veterans affairs are headed by Deputy Defence Minister Thabang Makwetla. His section has been under fire for the delayed pension payouts to struggling former combatants.

The shambolic state of the department was laid bare before MPs last year when Makwetla and his team failed to table an audit report before Parliament.

Allegations of corruption and irregular expenditure have rocked the department over the years.

Earlier this year, director-general Irene Mpolweni was suspended following a probe into a multi-million rand pothole tender scandal.

READ MORE: Gauteng paid military vets over R59 million to police Covid compliance at schools

Mplolweni has reportedly opened a case against Makwetla, alleging that she received death threats after the deputy minister’s public accusations that she was behind delayed pension payouts, among others.

The department replaced her with retired Navy Vice-Admiral Mosiwa Samuel Hlongwane three months ago.

Contacted for comment via email, military veterans spokesperson Lebogang Mothapa requested The Citizen to send over the dependents’ details.

“Please send us those cases so we can check on our system. Sometimes people might think there have been no payments only to find that fees were paid,” she said.

The case details were duly submitted as requested.

Unpaid school invoices

Briefing Parliament’s defence and military veterans portfolio committee in May, Makwetla and his team said the department was struggling to disburse benefits.

Furthermore, applications for basic education funding are increasing sharply, said chief director Sandisa Siyengo.

“There are 688 invoices not yet submitted to the department for the 2022/2023 financial year.

“Of the 1 531 invoices we received, 586 have been paid to the tune of R9.1 million. We are in the process of paying 859 invoices.”

Makwetla told the MPs that there were weaknesses when it comes to the administration and delivery of veterans’ benefits.

“First we need to adjust the framework that governs the delivery of benefits. There’s an urgent need to amend the regulations.

“Secondly, our policy and planning division has to improve its capacity to manage data because, as you pointed out chairperson, some of the figures are contradictory in the presentation, we need to improve, and we will improve,” said Makwetla.

Committee chairperson Vusi Xaba told Hlongwane that the department required a “strong and vigilant” director-general.

“If you are not strong, you will crack before us. What we did today was lay bare all these issues before you so you can attend to them.

“Fill those vacancies quickly and ensure capacity to deliver, or else there will be budget under expenditure in critical areas,” Xaba said.

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