Dear Portfolio Committee on Defence and Military Veterans,

I would like you to address the following matters which have been hanging since the initiation of the military veterans act.

1. Military veterans school children school fees.

First of all i would like to appreciate what the committee has been and still addressing regarding school fees for the school kids. However, since the school fees for both primary and secondary school; it has never been elevated to go in line with the school fees that are increasing annually in different schools where the children are.

For example the threshold for primary and secondary school where its paid at R20,000.00, whereas the school fees in some other schools have skyrocketted to R27,000.00 up to this far, since every year schools hike their fees. And it has been accumulating for quite a number of years to an extent whereby some of the parents have been taken to the lawyers of those particular schools. I would request that you also address this because things are getting tougher and tougher for some of military veterans.

2. Business empowerment.

The issue of getting assistance for the companies belonging to military veterans also is a big problem because of the rules that have been set if not being exaggerated. Because when you call for assistance, you are referred to outside institution which will ask you to submit you documents and after you submitted all the document you get rejected. And at the end of financial year millions are returned to treasury; which i think it is unappropriate. This is the money that would have assisted the military veterans companies and the military veterans housing and rent issues if i may say.

For instance i have a security company that is fully registered, and have to pay the annual fees to PSIRA which is around R7000.00, but due to lack of security jobs and tenders the company cant manage to pay. And as a result our security companies cant get tenders because they dont have resources (roving vehicles, annual fees for PSIRA, firearms, radios and money to pay for the office rent).

I tried to apply for assistance through DMV and they referred me to SEFA and NEF sayjng they have allocated whatever to those institutions. I did sent all the information, quotations and documents that they requested but my application was rejected for the past many years. All they tell me is that i should get the jobs or tenders first. Now my question is how am i going to get such jobs whereas my company doesnt have equipment like firearms, radios, vehicles which are the main requirement if one has to apply for a tender and get it.

Now with all the relevant experience we end up loosing opportunities. I even failed to apply for the great opportunity tender for security provision at DMV because my security company is owing PSIRA annual fees of up to R17,000.00, doesnt have equipments that are need to qualify for such a tender; and the reason being that the business empowerment department at DMV failed to assist my company besides having submitted the best business plan.

3. Military veterans BBEE score.

There is no military veterans score on the tender documents where as its mentioned on the papers but the scores for the women, youth and people with disabilities are on the documents. Cant you at least talk to all the departments and municipalities to update the tender documents.

4. Establishment of military veterans offices in provinces and municipalities.

Why cant you start with the establishment of offices in all provinces and municipalities, where you can hire unemployed military veterans that can assist those that are staying far from the main offices like Pretoria.

To give you and example, there are so many military veterans that are unemployed that needs assistance but are not getting assistance like getting them to be registered on the database and help them apply for pensions. Those veterans dont have any smart phones either and some cant even read etc. However if offices can be in municioslities, they can be assisted easily because people working around those areas know their dilects.

5. Military veterans assistance with housing rent since building their houses seem to be a serious hurdle

Since some more than 90% of military veterans dont have shelters to stay with their children why cant the depsrtment pay for their rent so that they have dignity like other people, because building houses for them is now taking decades. If you can manage to settle bonds for up to R170, 000.00 why cant you pay for their rent till their houses are constructed and handed over to them.

Cant you at least think about this and assist those old soldiers and their families get shelters really. Now winter has already started, no body seem to be thinking about how military veterans.