Two widowed women on Tuesday afternoon stormed the Masvingo Provincial Information Office demanding to know why they had not received their late husbands’ benefits from the Zimbabwe`s Liberation War Veterans Association (ZNLWVA).
They said their late husbands were war veterans but their benefits had not been released since over two years after their passing on.
One of the widows, Susan Rwatiringa (49) said her husband Judah Kanje was laid to rest at the Masvingo Provincial Heroes’ acre on July 15, 2016 but she was yet to receive any of his pension benefits.
“My husband only got a 21 gun salute on the day he was buried but I have not received anything else. This is not fair. How should I survive when my husband’s money has not been released over two years later?” she quipped.
When contacted for comment, Masvingo provincial war veterans chairperson, Tendeukai Chinooneka said government had a backlog in paying out war veterans’ benefits.
“The backlog emanates from the old dispensation but the new government is working tirelessly to resolve that. We hope that the situation of those widows will be resolved soon,” said Chinooneka.
War veterans get a little above US$200 in monthly pay-outs. Two pieces of legislation, the War Veterans Act, and the Ex-Political Prisoners, Detainees and Restrictees Act provide the framework for administering war veterans` affairs.
Going by the two pieces of legislation, war veterans` widows are supposed to receive US$2 500 for funeral cover.
Their children must receive educational funding among other benefits but government allegedly owes millions of dollars to universities and colleges in unpaid tuition for war veterans’ children.local
