M A Y 2 0 1 2 • S A S O L D I E R - Department of Defence

2010 review of defenceMilitary Veterans honouredfor their contributionS A S O L D I E RBy L Cpl Itumeleng Makhubela andMr Thabo ShirindaPhoto: Sgt Elias MahumaThe democratic state of ourcountry can, among otherreasons, be attributed to theMilitary Veterans, who over theyears have sacrificed their livesto rebuild the nation.In an attempt to compensate themthe Department of Military Veteranswas officially launched at the DenelCampus in Centurion on 30 April 2010.It was a jovial affair as the Ministerof Defence and Military Veterans,Ms Lindiwe Sisulu, and her Deputy,Mr Thabang Makwetla, formallyannounced the existence of the newdepartment.Months of hard work by a team led byMr Makwetla finally led to an idea,which unfolded in what we have asthe Department of Military Veterans.It was an idea the Commander-in-Chief of the SANDF, President JacobZuma, had when he established theDepartment of Military Veterans.The Deputy Minister of Defence andMilitary Veterans gave an overviewof the department’s structure andits directives. The launch was theculmination of long discussions anddebates. It had been incumbent uponthe Commission to draft policiesthat best suited the challenges of themilitary veterans. The solution wouldthen have been to attempt to resolvethe issues of the past, the present andthe future.Mr Makwetla said these policiesshould be relevant to the young andin accordance with their background.He mentioned, however, that theresolutions were mainstream as theyaddressed socio-economic issues aswell. The Department will also be aABOVE: The Director-General of the newly launched Department ofMilitary Veterans, Mr Tsepe Motumi, unveils the logo with the Ministerof Defence and Military Veterans, Ms Lindiwe Sisulu.platform to launch a career of choiceand the Deputy Minister has pledgedhis support.The former Acting Secretary forDefence, Mr Tsepe Motumi, wasappointed as the Director-General ofthe new department. After years ofstruggle to be recognised the MilitaryVeterans now have a department todeal specifically with their challenges.The President of the SA MilitaryVeterans Association (SAMVA), MrKelby Mphatso, emphasised the factthat it was an honour for them to getrecognition and to have a platform toexpress their issues.He expressed his heartfelt gratitudeat the launch of the newly establisheddepartment. He said that theywould continually meet to discusstheir organisational growth andempowerment. After their relentlessstruggle to achieve their goal, they arehonoured finally to be recognised fortheir efforts.On behalf of the SAMVA he pleadedfor peace and co-operation with thenew department so that consensuscould be reached on mattersaffecting them. Mr Sandi Sijake ofthe Veterans League commendedthe outcome and proclaimed this along travelled journey. In support ofthe military veterans he said historyhad been made and they were merelyadding to it. He was also hopefulthat the department would meet itsexpectations and pledged his totalsupport.(For more information please read thearticle as published in SA Soldier, June2010 edition, page 22.)M A Y 2 0 1 2 • 25