News / National
Mnangagwa to meet war veterans
25 Apr 2018 at 07:13hrs | Views
PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa has reportedly agreed to host a war veterans' indaba for a pep talk ahead of this year's general elections, NewsDay has learnt.
Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans' Association (ZNLWVA) secretary-general Victor Matemadanda confirmed the development yesterday, saying the meeting would take place soon after the Zanu-PF primary elections set for this weekend.
"We are going to meet the President, but we have to wait for the primaries to happen first because we can't stop some of our members from campaigning in the wards and constituencies because they are candidates, but that meeting is going to happen before elections," he said.
War veterans were reportedly bitter over their neglect by the Zanu-PF regime, with their children's school fees unpaid at a time they were also struggling to make ends meet with the measly monthly payouts they receive from government.
Matemadanda, however, refused to divulge details of the agenda of the meeting.
"We can't tell you before telling the President our concerns, so you will have to wait. We are aware that our members have certain expectations from government and those are legitimate, but it should also be clear that the economy is not performing well and we expect the welfare of the war veterans to be improved as the economy grows," he said.
Before his ouster last November, former President Robert Mugabe had scheduled a second meeting with war veterans to address their outstanding concerns.
The indaba had been postponed countless times owing to divisions in the ruling Zanu-PF over control of the war veterans.
Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans' Association (ZNLWVA) secretary-general Victor Matemadanda confirmed the development yesterday, saying the meeting would take place soon after the Zanu-PF primary elections set for this weekend.
"We are going to meet the President, but we have to wait for the primaries to happen first because we can't stop some of our members from campaigning in the wards and constituencies because they are candidates, but that meeting is going to happen before elections," he said.
War veterans were reportedly bitter over their neglect by the Zanu-PF regime, with their children's school fees unpaid at a time they were also struggling to make ends meet with the measly monthly payouts they receive from government.
"We can't tell you before telling the President our concerns, so you will have to wait. We are aware that our members have certain expectations from government and those are legitimate, but it should also be clear that the economy is not performing well and we expect the welfare of the war veterans to be improved as the economy grows," he said.
Before his ouster last November, former President Robert Mugabe had scheduled a second meeting with war veterans to address their outstanding concerns.
The indaba had been postponed countless times owing to divisions in the ruling Zanu-PF over control of the war veterans.
Source - newsday
