Last chance for Eastern Cape military veterans to register

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Military veterans in Eastern Cape have a final opportunity to register for benefits officially due to bona fide old soldiers.

The Department of Military Veterans (DMV) is currently engaged in a round of registrations to ensure benefits reach those they are meant to, with the Eastern Cape the third province following Gauteng and Limpopo. A DMV advisory has it the registration dates and venues for the remaining six provinces will be “communicated in due course”.

Those who register for what the DMV in what the advisory terms is “the last opportunity for verification” in the Eastern Cape, have until month-end to provide personal details at four confirmed venues in the province. The advisory further notes “other venues will be confirmed in due course” and provides seven fixed line numbers, all on the 012 Pretoria dialling code (765 9370, 765 9381, 765 9368, 765 9640, 765 9342, 765 9389 and 765 9343) for further information. The email address [email protected] can also be used. Aliwal North and Queenstown are sites given without specific venues.

Venues bona fide military veterans can report to are the SA Army Support Base in Gqeberha, 4 Para Battalion in King William’s Town, Buffalo Volunteer rifles in East London and 14 SAI in Umtata.

The DMV, via its Director-General Irene Mpolweni, earlier this month told the Portfolio Committee on Defence and Military Veterans (PCDMV) it has an annual target of verifying 3 000 veterans for inclusion on the military veterans database.

This month’s verification opportunity will be in the form of personal interviews. The verification secretariat will contact applicants to attend verification committee sittings. Verification will be done in all nine provinces.

Specifically as regards the Eastern Cape registration and verification, the advisory states no new applications will be accepted after 28 February, urging applicants to take advantage of “this last opportunity”. Once registered, applicants will be called to verification committee sittings to ensure they qualify for benefits ranging from pension, healthcare and housing through to business and education assistance in the form of bursaries.