Rhosarian 2019

The Rhosarian 1/19
6
MARY'S MEANDER
The big surprise in
August was a pension
payment by the
Zimbabwe Government.
All indications before
this, were that Forex was
in short supply and that
pensions were at the
bottom of the list. Unfortunately, some
pensioners had given up hope and let their
Standard Bank accounts lapse. Others are
more fortunate. One lady went to close her
account and, to her amazement, she discovered
that there had been a payment the week before.
Another pensioner managed to reopen his
closed account, but he now has the problem
of finding out from the Pensions Office if he
is on the list. See more about pensions on
page 26.
With our Web page now working, we are
getting more and more enquiries. If we had
received the request from the lady with young
children 30 years ago (see OPPORTUNITIES
further on) , we could easily have helped her.
When we were much younger, we arranged
sports days and Christmas parties for children.
Another frequent query is accommodation
for pensioners living on the South African
social grant. Only very few homes accept
these pensioners as they need to be subsidised.
We have the problem at Stilfontein where
most rents barely cover the cost of water and
electricity. With food prices rising daily, we
hesitate to increase the rents to match
municipal increases.
In Zimbabwe, it can take up to a year to get
a passport renewed. With this in mind, John
was pleasantly surprised by South African
Home Affairs in Centurion. Being a pensioner,
he was ushered to the front of the long queue,
both when applying and when collecting. The
biometric process was completed without John
MSASA MAIL
October 2019
even having to provide the required form.
Everything was done on computers. He had
applied on Tuesday and on Friday of the same
week he received an SMS saying that he could
collect his passport.
Displaying the pre-1994 South African flag
gratuitously is now legislated as hate speech.
This prompted a church minister to delicately
request that Rhodesian flags should not be
displayed at the Rhodesian remembrance
service in November. We are waiting for
someone to point out the old SA flag fixed to
the rear window of our car that we bought in
1987.
In this issue we are publishing the last
extract from C.G. Tracey’s book All for
Nothing?. It really grieves me to read how the
assistance and willingness by the Zimbabwe
Promotional Council to help the new
Government was wasted when we see
Zimbabwe today.
I would like to encourage everyone to
attend the annual Remembrance Sunday
Service at Dickie Fritz on 10 November. Last
year 24 Rhodesian Schools’ Associations laid
wreaths and displayed each school’s Roll of
Honour. Wreaths were also laid by former
members of the Security Forces, some of
whom had marched on parade, proudly
wearing their Regimental Association attire.
Best wishes,
Mary
“Keeping the Flame alive”
STOP PRESS
CONDOLENCES
TURNER, Ohna passed away peacefully
on 26 September 2019.
WALTER, Lewis passed away suddenly
on 24 September in Fish Hoek.