South Africa had several leading figures and role-players during our transition from apartheid to democracy. Some of these role- players included the IFP, Azapo, the PAC, the ANC and many others. Our freedom today belongs to all of us, and it is because of the collective efforts of all of these organisations that we are fortunate to live in a free South Africa today.
It was with this in mind that we welcomed the restructuring of the Department of Defence to include military veterans in 2009. We welcomed the allocation of funds to those who dedicated their lives to the struggle for freedom. The restructuring of this department heralded a new era in which we would finally recognise and honour the selfless contributions made by many fellow patriots in bringing about the realisation of a peaceful, democratic and prosperous South Africa. The IFP welcomed this development as a step towards intensifying our reconciliation and nation-building efforts.
However, today the IFP remains disillusioned, as the proposed Bill has not lived up to its expectations. We continue to lament the exclusion of some groups from accessing the benefits that are rightly due to them.
In a statement to the Portfolio Committee on Defence and Military Veterans on 25 May 2011, the Deputy Minister, Mr Makwetla, argued for the exclusion of many groups of veterans, including former national servicemen and potentially other groups. However, in June of this year, Mr Makwetla said that the Bill was clear in that it was dealing with former soldiers in the former South African Defence Force, liberation movement armies and ex- armies of the former Transkei, Bophuthatswana, Venda and Ciskei, TBVC, states. Mr Makwetla explained that the Bill was very clear about who would be eligible to apply for benefits once the proposed law had been passed.
However, this has not been our experience. For instance, there has been mass confusion as to who is and who is not regarded as a military veteran. It is our understanding that the erstwhile KwaZulu self-protection units, SPUs, as well as the ANC-aligned self-defence Units will be excluded from receiving benefits, as proposed by this Bill.
The men and women who formed part of these SPUs worked diligently for the establishment of conditions that would make a peaceful and negotiated settlement possible. These SPUs are military veterans too, as they were a part of a section of the South African community that was involved in waging and resolving the political conflicts of our past.
In conclusion, I would like to remember my dear friend, Mr Siegfried "Gobogobo" Bhengu. Siegfried passed away recently. He was a former member of the ANC and later the IFP. He was part of the first group of Umkhonto weSizwe, MK, recruits who left the country in the early 60s to receive military training in various countries in Africa as well as Russia. He was in the first detachment of MK that was infiltrated back into the country at the height of apartheid. He was later arrested and spent 10 years on Robben Island with the former President Nelson Mandela, Mr Walter Sisulu, baba [father] Andrew Mlangeni and many others.
The IFP supports this Bill. [Applause.]