The former combatants spent the night inside the ANC’s headquarters, Luthuli House, in protest.
FORMER combatants from different liberation formations will meet with ANC deputy president David Mabuza on Thursday.
This comes after they spent a night inside the ANC headquarters, Luthuli House, in protest.
The military veterans from the ANC, Azapo and PAC spent Tuesday night inside the ANC HQ and have been protesting since Monday.
Independent Media understands that some of them were not from around Johannesburg and had to arrange a place to sleep on Wednesday night.
ANC spokesperson Pule Mabe said the group was very co-operative, and the party understood their plight.
He added that there were no big fears of a security breach because the ex-combatants had come to the HQ with genuine concerns.
“They have been co-operative. The issues they are raising are part of their plight, and there is a planned meeting between themselves and the deputy president, as being delegated to deal with these matters at the level of government,” Mabe said.
According to Mabe, there were already movements to gather the ex-combatants from different parries and address their issues as a collective and not per ex-liberation party.
He maintained that the soldiers had given a lot to the country and had to be afforded the necessary respect.
“At the level of government, there is already the establishment of the SA Veterans Association, which brings together various ex-combatants of the liberation combatants,” he said
Mabe said the ANC was also in the process of merging the MKMVA and the MK Military Veterans Council. He said the process was disturbed by the Covid 19 pandemic.
Mabe responded to issues around safety at Luthuli House by saying that staff members were safe at the HQ and that the situation had been “brought to normal”.
This is despite reports of staff being evacuated due to security concerns.
“The ANC is a considerate organisation, that’s why even those that are not part of the ANC can bring their issues to the doorstep of the ANC. We have to listen to them to find a long-lasting solution. There were matters of safety that had to do with Covid-19, that’s why we have to understand the police presence in context. Some of them could not have had transport money to go back home,” said Mabe.
– Political Bureau
