News / National
Govt castigated for neglecting war veterans
11 Oct 2013 at 05:43hrs | Views
MANICALAND Senator Judith Mawire (Zanu-PF) on Tuesday castigated government for neglecting war veterans who were languishing in abject poverty 33 years after liberating Zimbabwe from colonial bondage.
Addressing the Senate on Tuesday, Mawire said the Rhodesian government did much better in recognising the role played by its own war veterans and awarded them large tracts of land as a token of appreciation.
"Madam President, our veterans of the liberation struggle continue to lead poor lives after the excellent job they did fighting for our independence," Mawire said.
"The Rhodesian government did well on that and we witnessed the white man rewarding his own heroes using our land and yet we have failed to do the same with our own war veterans."
Mawire said most war veterans led lives plagued by problems and although government had made efforts to assist them, they needed increases in their stipends and houses.
In 1997, about 50 000 war veterans demanded and got a one-off Z$50 000 gratuity each, triggering a decade-long recession.
Last year, war veterans appeared before the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Defence and Home Affairs demanding fresh gratuities of $18 000 each. They also demanded the establishment of a separate ministry to solely cater for their welfare.
They are currently receiving $130 monthly gratuities each.
On the education sector, Mawire said infrastructural challenges at schools should be addressed in order to lure teachers to rural schools.
"Teachers' welfare remains a cause for concern and it continues to impact negatively on children's performance. Most teachers are shunning rural areas because of poor infrastructure in these schools and financial constraints. Improved welfare for teachers would see rural schools retaining teachers for a greater part of their careers, thereby influencing a positive development in education," she said.
The senator said financial problems bedeviling institutions of higher learning were forcing girl children to engage in prostitution.
"Students face financial problems and failure by some parents to provide for them has seen some of them failing to live properly in these institutions. The girl child is the most affected as she is sometimes exposed to the dangers of prostitution. Therefore, I appeal to the government to timeously avail allowances for students in order to help them sail through their tertiary life without exposing themselves to dangers associated with sugar daddies and mummies," Mawire said.
Addressing the Senate on Tuesday, Mawire said the Rhodesian government did much better in recognising the role played by its own war veterans and awarded them large tracts of land as a token of appreciation.
"Madam President, our veterans of the liberation struggle continue to lead poor lives after the excellent job they did fighting for our independence," Mawire said.
"The Rhodesian government did well on that and we witnessed the white man rewarding his own heroes using our land and yet we have failed to do the same with our own war veterans."
Mawire said most war veterans led lives plagued by problems and although government had made efforts to assist them, they needed increases in their stipends and houses.
In 1997, about 50 000 war veterans demanded and got a one-off Z$50 000 gratuity each, triggering a decade-long recession.
They are currently receiving $130 monthly gratuities each.
On the education sector, Mawire said infrastructural challenges at schools should be addressed in order to lure teachers to rural schools.
"Teachers' welfare remains a cause for concern and it continues to impact negatively on children's performance. Most teachers are shunning rural areas because of poor infrastructure in these schools and financial constraints. Improved welfare for teachers would see rural schools retaining teachers for a greater part of their careers, thereby influencing a positive development in education," she said.
The senator said financial problems bedeviling institutions of higher learning were forcing girl children to engage in prostitution.
"Students face financial problems and failure by some parents to provide for them has seen some of them failing to live properly in these institutions. The girl child is the most affected as she is sometimes exposed to the dangers of prostitution. Therefore, I appeal to the government to timeously avail allowances for students in order to help them sail through their tertiary life without exposing themselves to dangers associated with sugar daddies and mummies," Mawire said.
Source - newsday
