Hon Speaker and hon members, unintentionally, the time allocated for the discussion of this Bill this afternoon belies the importance of its object, because the Military Veterans Bill we are discussing this afternoon reminds us that among us in our communities there are South Africans who, during the dark days of conflict in this country, were steadfast in the belief that the ultimate honour under those circumstances was to serve their country.
As a former Member of Parliament, James Ngculu, eloquently described them in his newly published book The Honour to Serve, they are individuals who believed that "honour is stronger than death" and also that, when cornered, always remember "to keep the last bullet for yourself". On all sides, all of them, as soldiers, subscribed to the dictum that absolute submission to the will of the commander was an honourable thing.
Today, because of the way they were moulded, these patriots, in particular those from yesterday's liberation armies, have been shunted to the margins of our society by those they fought to free. As Oliver Reginald Tambo, the leader of the largest guerrilla organisation in the resistance to apartheid, said: In building up our own popular army we aim therefore not only at the overthrow of the fascist regime, we aim also at building up a politically conscious and revolutionary army, conscious of its popular origin, unwavering in its democratic functions and guided by our revolutionary orientation.
Conscious of the importance of the change they fought for and the sacrifice involved, many military veterans from the liberation armies have, with humility, resigned themselves to living wretched lives to give freedom a chance.
Again, as James Ngculu explains:
These were not soldiers of fortune. None were paid a salary at the end of the month, because they were all volunteer fighters committed to the struggle for justice and freedom. They were guerrillas or what Che Guevara defined as social reformers who take up arms in response to the wishes of the masses.
The purpose of the Military Veterans Bill is to recognise and honour military veterans in life and memorialise them in death for their sacrifices on behalf of the nation. It seeks to ensure a smooth and seamless transition for military veterans from active military service to civilian life. It aims to restore the capability of military veterans with disabilities to the greatest extent possible, and to improve their quality of life and that of their dependants. The Bill envisages a system of benefits and services to military veterans, the cumulative effect of which will ensure that military veterans augment our national work force broadly and contribute to the prosperity and development of the country. Lastly, the policy espoused by the Bill recognises that military veterans are a unique resource for nation-building and reconciliation which has been underutilised.
This intervention by government is so vital to the future and stability of this country that we must be forgiven if our frankness takes precedence over etiquette. This issue need not be surrounded by a host of technicalities and complicated reasoning, the way some career analysts and obstructionist politicians are tempted to view it. As we speak, there are destitute former freedom fighters who, we are told, sleep in public places such as Johannesburg Park Station, without food or the comfort of a place they can call their home.
The Bill is not the first piece of legislation to deal with military veterans in government, nor is it the first time government has acknowledged the need to support military veterans. The need to consider supporting the social reintegration of demobilised soldiers back into communities was raised as early as November 1993 - even before the integration process commenced - by the former Chief of the South African Defence Force, Gen Meiring, at an Institute for Defence Policy conference, when he said:
There are a large number of individuals who have received military training of some sort and who will not be accommodated in the South African Army. To leave these individuals jobless in the streets is to invite trouble. An idea is to establish a services brigade to accommodate and train them.
Indeed, the Service Corps was established in January 1995, following the establishment of the South African National Defence Force in 1994. In 1999, the Department of Defence introduced legislation, namely the Military Veterans' Affairs Act, to cater for military veterans.
The reason we are piloting new legislation through Parliament today is that, courageous as the interventions referred to above were, they all failed because they were inadequate, piecemeal and not holistically conceived. As a result, support for military veterans remained ad hoc, discretionary and uneven across all three spheres of government.
The Bill before the House seeks to improve the definition of beneficiaries to make it inclusive and in line with the Constitution. Secondly, it comprehensively spells out the support and benefits to military veterans and the care due to their dependants which government commits itself to providing. Lastly, it stipulates the institutions to be established in order to realise this policy. The Bill before the House has benefited from extensive case-study work done of countries where there is support for military veterans in government. In this regard, work was done on both developing and developed countries, including familiarisation visits to those countries which evince best practice. Still and all, the final product was crafted as a home-grown instrument to deal with concrete conditions confronting us here at home, with our specific historical background and national imperatives.
In this respect, we wish to point out that the policy contained in this Bill seeks to address the challenge of military veterans within the national framework of care for the indigent within the broad antipoverty strategy, socially and economically. The policy enunciated in the Bill seeks to deal with the needs of military veterans as an investment towards the broader human resource needs of the country, rather than as a pure welfare programme.
The policy seeks to protect government policy on military veterans from being donor-driven, while allowing for partnerships. The Bill provides approaches to the affairs of military veterans today with the future challenges of military veterans in mind.
On behalf of the Minister of Defence and Military Veterans, it behoves me to express sincere appreciation for the sterling work done by members of the portfolio committee for the diligence and sensitivity with which they have gone about their deliberations on this Bill. We have noted some of the important views shared with the committee by members of the public and stakeholders. These include the fairly popular sentiment that other military veterans and stalwarts of the struggle against apartheid, besides those who were in military organisations, be considered for similar support.
I cannot conclude my remarks in this debate without, once again, conveying from the Ministry a word of appreciation to the architects of this policy, the Ministerial Task Team on Military Veterans, for a job well done.