Mabuza’s spokesperson Sam Bopape said in a statement on Monday that the meeting will provide the necessary platform for the “task team to assess progress achieved by both the national and Mpumalanga provincial government in particular, in addressing the challenges faced by the military veterans”.
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“In pursuit of mechanisms to address the number of challenges raised by the military veterans, President Cyril Ramaphosa appointed the Presidential Task Team… to co-ordinate efforts of finding lasting solutions to address the identified challenges.”
Mabuza was accompanied by deputy minister of defence and military veterans Thabang Makwetla, Mpumalanga premier Refilwe Mtshweni-Tsipane and members of the executive council.
He said he was thankful that Mpumalanga has a unit to deal with matters affecting military veterans. “Please build houses for our military veterans and what you are doing is a good step in the right direction.
“We have an office of the military veterans here in Mpumalanga, we want that office to be working for the benefit of this special family of military veterans,” said Mabuza.
Military veteran George Maile said: “It seems like after our liberation we have not been considered as people by our government. We have marched to the president, hence the task team; our issues are houses and medical attention. We have not even got counselling.
“Our children are a laughing stock in the community because we can’t afford to educate them. We believed our integration to society was not proper because now you see our members don’t have houses and sleep on the streets but they fought for this country.
“Some came back with illnesses and getting medical help is a problem and that include their children.”
The team has also held meetings in Gauteng, Limpopo and the Eastern Cape.
