TimesLIVE reports that the government has rejected demands for military veterans to be paid a one-off R4m each for their contribution to the struggle against apartheid.

Deputy minister of defence and military veterans, Thabang Makwetla, revealed this during a sitting of parliament's defence and military veterans portfolio committee on Wednesday. A departmental delegation led by Makwetla briefed the sitting on the progress made by a presidential task team set up by President Cyril Ramaphosa last year following protests by the veterans’ association. The task team is led by Deputy President David Mabuza and is looking at the grievances of the military veterans, which include complaints about joblessness, lack of housing and nonpayment of other benefits to veterans and their families. “The critical question which the portfolio committee must be aware of, which preoccupied the task team, was to respond to a demand by military veterans, who marched, that they be given a one-off R4m payout to each of them. And of course there was a political rationale that they advanced why they believe they are deserving of that kind of support,” said Makwetla. He said the issue was difficult for the government to resolve, with veterans staging a sit-in at the Union Buildings. Makwetla advised that the task team instead decided to prioritise the payout of the military veterans' pension, as envisaged by the law.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Aphiwe Deklerk at TimesLIVE

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