Over 120 women military veterans who gathered in a two-day workshop Bloemfontein over the weekend representing the various military veterans formations in the country to mark August as Women’s Month, resolved to unite and work together to advance their economic empowerment and social upliftment.
The workshop resolved amongst others:
- To advocate for some policy and legislative review such as the health provision benefit as stipulated in the Military Veterans Act 18 of 2011 to be more comprehensive and include their dependants and beneficiaries
- To organise themselves to establish cooperatives that will be included in the envisaged 200 cooperatives that the deputy Minister of Defence and Military veterans, Mr Kebby Maphatsoe said will be established to create 1500 jobs for military veterans during the financial year 2014/15
- To organise more women military veterans to have easier and faster access to the 11 benefits stipulated in the Military Veterans Act 18 of 2011.
- To organise military veterans to work closely with the Department of Defence in ensuring that women military veterans are given priority in accessing economic opportunities within the DoD.
- To work towards the strengthening of the capacity of the South African National Military Veterans Association (SANMVA) and the Department of Military Veterans (DMV) to ensure accelerated delivery of services to military veterans in general and women military veterans in particular
- To develop a comprehensive programme of action that will guide the activities of the women military veterans to undertake projects in systematic and structured manner such as honouring and memorialisation of women military veterans that fought for liberation and helped I the reconstruction and development of the country.
“We helped deliver the twenty year democracy that the country now enjoys now is the time to get ourselves better organised to deliver our own economic empowerment and social upliftment. “’ said Dr Mavis Ndlovu, a former MK cadre, trained medical doctor and successful business woman, when addressing the delegates.
The DMV organised the two day workshop working in concert with the Interim Gender Forum that was established on March 8 and 9th 2014 during first ever celebration of International Women’s Day at which the Minister of Defence and Military Veterans , Ms Nosiviwe Mapisa – Nqakula called on women military veterans to organise themselves.
The workshop was held under theme “Together we move South Africa Forward through Women Empowerment".
It was attended by amongst others the Deputy Mayor of the City of Mangaung, Ms Constance Rampai, women representatives from SANMVA, Umkhonto we Sizwe Military Veteran Association (MKMVA); Azanian People’s Liberation Army Military Veterans Association, (APLAMVA); Azanian National Liberation Army Military Veterans Association (AZANLAMVA); the Council for Military Veterans Organisations (CMVO) the Ciskei Defence Force Military Veterans Associations (CDFMVA); DENEL, National Empowerment Forum, the Defence Force Service Commission as well as the representatives of the South African National Defence Force.
Enquiries:
Mbulelo Musi
Cell: 082 338 3890
E-mail: mbulelo.musi@dmv.gov.za
