Defence and Military Veterans Minister Angie Motshekga blamed the underexpenditure on the capacity constraints within the Government Pensions Administration Agency. Picture: Independent Newspapers Archive
The Department of Defence and Military Veterans’ failure to spend R150 million meant for military veterans’ pensions points to an entity that is in shambles and unable to deliver on its constitutional mandate.
This is according to MPs from various political parties after Defence and Military Veterans Minister Angie Motshekga blamed the underexpenditure on the regulations that were published late last year and the capacity constraints within the Government Pensions Administration Agency (GPAA).
A total of 1 232 military veterans received their pension at the end of June and 12 202 applications were being processed. The slow pace in processing the applications at GPAA results in some of the military veterans dying before they get their benefits, according to the Azanian People’s Liberation Army Military Veterans Association.
The underspending amount comes from Motshekga’s response to three sets of parliamentary questions from EFF MP Carl Niehaus and uMkhonto weSizwe Party’s Des van Rooyen and Andile Mngxitama.
On whether the underspending on military veterans’ pensions amounted to R250m, Motshekga said R159m was the correct figure.
The underspending was due to the pension benefit payouts starting only after the regulations governing the military veterans’ pensions were gazetted in October 2023, she said.
“The other contributing factor to the underexpenditure was due to the capacity constraints at GPAA.
“Steps are being taken in collaboration with GPAA to process as many applications as possible and to reach out to those who may not have submitted all required documents so that the payments can be effected,” the minister said.
The GPAA received a total of 18 830 pension benefit applications and 2 485 were found to be duplicates, according to Motshekga.
She insisted that the department, in collaboration with GPAA, was working hard to process all outstanding applications and to reach out to those who still needed to submit outstanding documents.
“According to the 2024-25 annual performance plan, a target of 2 500 recipients has been set for the end of quarter two,” she said.
Speaking to the “Cape Times”, Niehaus said the R150m was money that could have made the lives of military veterans so much better. Niehaus blamed the underexpenditure on the department being led by acting director-generals.
“Why is there a human resources crisis and some officials are in acting positions? Why is there a perpetual musical chairs of director-generals who keep on changing, suspended and acting?
“We all know that when somebody is acting, they can’t take responsibility,” he said.
He claimed thousands of military veterans were not included in the department’s database and could not get benefits such as pensions, educational assistance, health care and others.
Azanian People’s Liberation Army Military Veterans Association deputy secretary-general Thembinkosi Feliti urged Motshekga to resolve the DG vacant post as a matter of urgency and to speed up the processing of the pension applications.
DA spokesperson Chris Hattingh said: “From what I experience from people trying to communicate with the department, it is dysfunctional. If it was a private entity, it would long be bankrupt.
“It is an untenable situation. There needs to be a dramatic turnaround strategy implemented to attend to military veterans. We need strong intervention.”
Cape Times
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