War vets arrive for make of break indaba with Mugabe

WAR veterans from all provinces are expected to arrive in Harare today for their crucial meeting with President Mugabe on Thursday. As of yesterday, accreditation of delegates was progressing smoothly except in Harare were there was an alignment glitch of administrative districts.

At least 10 000 war veterans are expected at the meeting.

Welfare Services for War Veterans, War Collaborators, Ex- Detainees and Restrictees Brigadier-General Walter Tapfumaneyi (Retired) told The Herald yesterday that they were facing financial challenges in terms of logistics but he was optimistic that the meeting would be a success.

He said they had received overwhelming support from major service providers such as transporters and hoteliers. Brig-Gen Tapfumaneyi said it was their expectation to pay service providers today before the arrival of delegates. "We are proceeding on the assumption that we get funding before the arrival of delegates tomorrow (today)," he said.

"Out of goodwill, all our transporters, hotels and other providers of accommodation have accepted our registration on the assumption that we will be paying them.

"Accreditation of delegates is going on well except in Harare because it has a misalignment of districts. We are working with five administrative districts but Harare has 28 administrative districts. They need to organise themselves and give 50 members for each of the five administrative districts and then 55 members who may not be members of the association but composed of categories like High Command, General Staff, field commanders in the liberation struggle.

"Any war veteran who had a part in the liberation war – female combatants, wounded comrades - those are the war veterans who are being selected by the Joint Operations Command process, 55 per district.

"So Harare province should do the Mathematics which gives us that number of delegates. It's not all war veterans who are coming to the meeting. It's a meeting of representatives of war veterans because we have 34 093 surviving war veterans so we are selecting only a third of them to come and meet the President because a meeting of 34 000 would be logistically and administratively unmanageable. That is why we are insisting that; give us your representatives. Put your best foot forward to say the issues you want to say in this conversation with the President . . .

"Select people who are organised, who can articulate issues, who can engage in a conversation in an orderly and dignified way. Get all the things that must be said."

Brig-Gen Tapfumaneyi said, as war veterans, they do not want to pre-empt their meeting with President Mugabe, who is their patron, but they were optimistic of a positive outcome that addresses problems facing the freedom fighters.

"The President invited the war veterans to a frank discussion of issues to do with their welfare. So they need to come prepared to discuss their issues with the President. They must send their best representatives forward," he said.

"We expect that all issues to be discussed will be discussed and the President, in his own time, as the Commander-in-Chief and our patron, will be able to address the issues both through the party and through the Government. But we cannot, at the same time, pre-empt his actions. We don't command him. He is our patron, he is our leader and he is one of us."

Brig-Gen Tapfumaneyi said tomorrow, the war veterans would meet to come up with thematic reports to be discussed at the Thursday's meeting.

He said most of the sessions would be closed and it was up to the President and the committee organising the meeting to publicise the resolutions of the meeting.