Hon Chairperson, hon Minister of Finance, Mr Pravin Gordhan, Deputy Minister of Finance, Nhlanhla Nene and our chairperson of the committee, Comrade Mufamadi, my Whip, the hon members of this House, comrades and friends on my left, speaking on behalf of the ANC, I would want to avoid a situation whereby one would be deterred from responding to the prophecies of doom and dark horses that exist and that want to be in charge of this country when they have nothing to offer.
The National Treasury provides for the government's pension and postretirement medical benefit obligations to former employees of state departments and bodies, as well as retired members of the military.
Programme 7 of the Treasury's budget provides policy analysis and advice on an ongoing basis by completing annual reviews and implementing recommendations in accordance with stakeholder agreements reached on pension reforms, postretirement medical benefits, political office bearers and pension legislation.
The objectives and measures are as follows: to pay pensions to people who made sacrifices or served the public interest in the democratisation of South Africa through full implementation of the Special Pensions Amendment Act; to improve the turnaround time for pension payments by reviewing special pensions, medical pensions, military pensions and injury on duty processes and procedures; and lastly, to alleviate poverty by ensuring timely and accurate monthly payments of military pension funds, contributions to medical aid schemes, risk and administrative fees on behalf of members of the Political Office Bearers Pension Fund.
The Civil Pensions and Contributions Fund provides for the processing ... Ungangxami ndiyabuya mfo wethu, [Don't rush, I'm coming back to your point, my brother.] ... and payment of pensions and medical subsidies to retired civil servants, the injured, the disabled and the dependants of deceased civil servants and former struggle veterans in terms of various statutes, collective bargaining agreements and other commitments. The military pensions and other benefits make provision for the processing and payment of military pension benefits and medical claims arising from injuries sustained during various wars, including South Africa's liberation wars - I don't know whether you were there, my friends.
Before the integration of the forces, statutory force members were contributing to the Government Employees Pension Fund and stood to receive pension benefits on termination of their service. The former nonstatutory forces members, on the other hand, did not have the opportunity to contribute to any pension fund. This created a disparity between the former natural statutory fund, members and the former statutory forces members in as far as pension benefits were concerned.
The ANC, therefore, as champion for social transformation and human development, noted at its Polokwane conference that many former MK members remained destitute, unemployed, poor, and did not receive much assistance from the state, and that some of these former members were demobilised from the SA National Defence Force, SANDF, with little safety nets for their survival. We applaud the department for conceding to the demand of the ANC as the leader. [Applause.]
The conference went further and resolved that direct interest must be taken in the MK military veterans, and that has been done through the establishment of the Department of Defence and Military Veterans. This is a clear indication that the ANC, and the ANC alone, remains charged and bears the brunt of aspects that actually put our own comrades in the plight that they find themselves in just because not all of them could be absorbed into the system. Now, it is the ANC that is taking that responsibility and driving the process of meeting all their needs. [Interjections.] [Applause.]
The revised dispensation also brought about equity amongst members with more or less than 10 years service, to the extent that 50% recognition for members with less than 10 years service in the previous dispensation was cancelled. The Government Employees Pension Fund rules for the revised dispensation were approved, paving the way for implementation.
Bangayilibala ke aba bangapha ngasekhohlo kum ukuba kumagqala namajoni esasinawo phambi kokuba sifumane inkululeko, awabo kwakukho imirhumo ayeyenza njengokuba ayesilwa egebenga abantwana babantu. Kodwa la wona alwela ukuba kukhululwe umntu, le nto ifunwa nguThixo, wona ayengenanto ayifumanayo - ayengenamivuzo. Kwakungenakurhunywa nto kakade! (Translation of isiXhosa paragraph follows.)
[The ones on my left have forgotten that the veterans and soldiers we had before democracy - their soldiers - received donations for fighting against and killing our people. But ours were fighting for the freedom of all, this is what God wants, yet they received nothing - they did not have any rewards. Nothing was given to them, by the way!]
However, the ANC-led government ...
... uze ngaphambili wathi anisoze nife, nifele ilize. Namhlanje baneendawo zokuhlala. [... came forward and said you are not going to die, and die in vain. Today, they have residences.] [Applause.]
The ANC, as the leading political party in this country, has the responsibility of ensuring that yesterday remains different from tomorrow; it will never be the same.
Ungomso wohlukile kwizolo. Sifun' ukubulela ... [Tomorrow is different from yesterday. We want to show gratitude ...]
... as the ANC, for the deployment we made that ensured that the finances ...
... ezijongene nokuba kulungiswe iinkxwaleko ezenziwa ngoorhulumente bangaphambili zabelwe oko. Umfo kaGordhan nomfo kaNene, beqhutyelwa ngumzukulwana kaFuzile, baqinisekisa ukuba ... [... meant to redress injustices caused by the apartheid government are allocated for that. The son of Gordhan and the son of Nene, with Fuzile's grandson at the helm, are ensuring that ...]
... the gaps that exist between the haves and the have-nots are actually closed, including those who fought ...
... phaya emahlathini, becunyuzwa iintloko ngooyihlomkhulu benu, nina makwedini! [Kwaqhwatywa.] Kufuneka siyitheth' icace ... [...there in the battlefield. They were crushed and killed by your forefathers, you boys! [Applause.] We need to state it clearly ...]
... as the ANC, that ...
... ukususela ngowama-2010 ... [... from 2010 ...]
... when we revised the national nonstatutory forces' pension dispensation, which was approved by Cabinet at its meeting on 24 November 2010, we made provision for 100% recognition of the service period of the former nonstatutory forces members. This report followed a Cabinet decision in 2009, to create a new service dispensation for the Defence Force.
Ngubani ke ongathi lo rhulumente we-ANC akawenzelanga nto kwaye engazimiselanga kuwenzela nto amagqala namaxhoba okulwela inkululeko? Ndithi ... [Who can say that this ANC-led government did nothing and is not prepared to do something for the veterans and the victims of the struggle? I'm saying ...]
... down with the Blues, down! The ANC, and the ANC alone, remains committed to ...