Dear Portfolio Committee on Defence and Military Veterans,

I am a wife, of a former Military Veteran who made an application in July 2023 to be placed on the Database of Military, applying for funeral benefit and pensioen benefit.

I have sended documents requested by them to this department and follow up numerous times with the department with sms and whatsapp and phone calls.
None has happend till February 2024. I got an sms requesting same documents. I send it again. Now at least I am speaking to the cel no. PROVIDED BY YOUR WEBSITE. Asking me again for the documents.

I decided to contact the department of funeral benefits and was told they will come back to me. I stresses to him that in March my application needs to be completed to qualify.

He then got back to me a week before and said nothing was done on the database and that he cannot help me untill is done.

Now I am back to where I have started. None has been DONE since last year.

I contact them again through sms and was told to speak to Alettie Sutherland. Many phone call attemps she finally answer and told me the people I have contacted and correspondence was wrong they should have ask me to send them other documents.

I then contact the Department of Defense and was help to obtain the necessary docs. It was emailed immediately to dmv.

I am now left in the dark to what is happening further since Alettie is not replying back to me with regards to my application.

I stresses this concern to her with calls and sms this morning. No reply till now.

My main concern is : I forfeited my funeral benefits as I was told, by DMV for delaying my application.
My husband gave 19 years of his life to his country being Senior Seargeant and we get treated like just another paper work trial.

I would appreciate if this can be sort out with great urgency.

Many thanks
Mrs Leibbrandt