TUESDAY, 5.00PM
ZIMBABWEAN war veterans have accused the commission screening liberation war veterans of corruption and inefficiency at both district and provincial levels.
Ziana news agency on reported that former fighters said the present provincial vetting team should step down and give way to a more efficient and transparent team from Harare.
War veterans who fought in Zimbabwe’s war of liberation are being screened to ensure only genuine claimants receive the promised Z$50 000 gratuity by the end of this year and Z$2 000 per month with effect from January next year.
War veterans alleged the vetting team in the Manica province capital of Mutare is being bribed and is using delaying tactics so that team members can receive more allowances. “We want a new team … to come from Harare and carry out the screening exercise. We are being made to suffer for nothing,” said Charles Chihaka.
Another former fighter, Joel Muremba, said those referred to the provincial screening centres from districts are being asked to bring with them witnesses who can testify that the claimants participated in the war during the 1970s.
Another ex-combatant, Shakemore Mutasa, said the answers to some of the questions being asked at screening points could have been forgotten because the events took place a long time ago. “I trained at a transit camp in Mozambique in 1976 and I was then sent to the battlefront because of the need for guerrillas. Now, 20 years later, they are telling me I did not train at a recognised training camp just because I can’t remember some minor details,” Mutasa said.
Some of the ex-combatants being referred to the provincial screening centres are registered members of the War Veterans Association and they questioned why they are being rejected.
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