The next parliament sitting scheduled for the month of July will be bringing one of the most critical bills into the house. This is the Military Veterans Bill which will create an office dedicated to the welfare and care of those who at one point or another served in the military.
What kind of an animal is this any way? Since the establishment of the BDF in 1977, there has never been an organized manner in which military veterans are taken care of by government. It seems the country established its military without taking into account the fact that one day the young soldiers they were recruiting would be gone out of the system for various reasons. This shows that there was lack of foresight on the part of leadership all the way from Lt Gen Merafhe to the last previous commander who is Lt Gen Galebotswe.
The question that lingers when one considers military veterans in this country is; who is a military veteran? In my own refined definition, in the context of Botswana, a military veteran is anyone who has trained and served as military personnel and was deployed at a particular time and space.
So in this case the definition of a military veteran would not strictly apply to those who have a full twenty years until they retired. Anyone who served his country for any reasonable amount of time is eligible for this title and entitlement. This definition is wide in its scope and almost all encompassing.
Going back into the history of the BDF, this organization has in the past had a negative attitude against soldiers who elected to resign instead of waiting to serve the minimum twenty years that qualifies one to retire and be placed on monthly pension.
Many soldiers elected to resign and pursue other interests in life. Interesting enough, most of the soldiers that left early for greener pastures or for further education seem to have struck the right cord. They are generally successful compared to their counterparts who preferred to make the military a career.
Some of these people have gone on to study and qualify in different fields. One of these enviable individuals left the military as a private soldier and went on to study and qualified as an attorney. There is need to revisit BDF policy on such people returning to be reenlisted into the military as the current one bars them from returning.
BDF has lost a lot of talent with this policy because these trained soldiers cannot return and serve their country in the military. In fact there is no written policy regarding this issue, it is simply someone’s wish and that now is written on stone. The question is; are this people going to be considered as military veterans?
Botswana is the only country in southern Africa which has no structured way of looking after its soldiers who can now be defined as veterans. Zimbabwe which has fought a war of liberation alongside our own BDF soldiers especially in northern Botswana has been taking care of their military veterans since 1980 at the time of their independence.
I am of the opinion that the soldiers that fought the Ian Smith War as it was called should be given special preference when the bill reaches the floor of parliament. I am saying this without favour or prejudice as someone who has served the military for twenty. I should not be given equal treatment with those old soldiers who literally gave up their lives and existence in order to bring us security.
These men literally had no life. They were not allowed to exist as normal human beings. They were always confined to the barracks when they had returned from the border which formed the frontline. These men who are all above the age of sixty-five deserve better.
However, the wider bill should encompass three major points. One, the bill must provide a monthly stipend for all soldiers who retired, resigned and all those who were fired. Without this element of remuneration, the bill will be stillborn.
Two, the bill should categorically state the medical benefits for all military veterans who once served this country. Currently military veterans have to fend for themselves and pay their medical bills. Military injuries usually occur from training and certain particular specialities such as parachuting. When these soldiers grow old, that is when they need medical attention than ever.
Currently, retired soldiers use BDF medical facilities at the mercy of the current commander. There is need to formalise this and get the policy within perspective in the interest of military veterans, people who have selflessly served the interests of this nation.
Third, the bill will need to define the role of the military veterans in the context of Botswana’s military. Serving soldiers are governed by the BDF Act while those who would have separated with the military will remain under the Veterans Act. The Act should therefore clearly define the role of the veteran soldier in regard to what is known as the reserve force.
Training of soldiers is very expensive and that calls for the need to activate a reserve force that will be called in to serve on the need basis. A reserve force is very vital for the security of every nation. Currently soldiers are manning Covid-19 movement roadblocks which could be manned by soldiers of the reserve force.
It is only in Botswana where retired soldiers are involved in public manual works (Ipelegeng or Namola Leuba) which is a disgrace to the military. These individuals are forced to compete for such menial jobs with old women in the villages. The public does not view these retired soldiers in good light because of what they have been reduced to in society.
It is in the hands of parliament to raise the profile of the heroes who sacrificed their lives for the security of this nation. It is equally in the hands of theses veterans to attend the kgotla consultation meetings so that they can positively influence the outcome of the bill.
