With its first anniversary coming in February, Amalgamated Veterans of SA (AVSA) is marshalling its defences ahead of what appears to be a legal attempt to hold the Department of Military Veterans (DMV) accountable.
AVSA, by way of its social media presence, wants old soldiers to tell the not for profit organisation (NPO) what their experiences are of dealings with the DMV, the second stated responsibility of Defence and Military Veterans Minister Angie Motshekga. At the same time AVSA is appealing to public spirited legal professionals to stand up and “apply their skills to a matter of national importance involving military veterans, Constitutional obligations and administrative justice”.
AVSA founder Ernest Lintnaar has it the NPO is updating its veterans’ complaints and experiences register to “accurately reflect what veterans across South Africa are really experiencing on the ground”. He lists six areas of concern AVSA wants details of stressing “it is not a survey for interest or opinions” but for a factual record of “lived experiences that must be properly documented”.
The areas of concern are pensions where information about delays, stoppages, deductions or unexplained reasons is needed. Similarly, problems in accessing healthcare; exclusion from the military veterans’ database because of “verification issues”; stalled housing applications; “benefits promised but never delivered” and poor communication ranging from unanswered emails to “being sent from pillar to post” are sought.
These, if properly documented, will be added to the “complex, document heavy” AVSA dossier listing governance and compliance failures; vulnerable and elderly beneficiaries; “statutory and constitutional duties owed by the State; as well as “issues of fairness, legality and accountability” ahead of legal challenges. Lintnaar maintains his appeal to the country’s legal fraternity is not a speculative one with “extensive groundwork, documentation and evidentiary material” already in place.
Legal beagles who make the AVSA grade will, Lintnaar has it, have “a meaningful opportunity to restore dignity and legality” as well as impacting where oversight has failed in matters “grounded in law, evidence and lived experiences”.
