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President Emmerson Mnangagwa

EDITOR — Fellow comrades do not despair if your monthly pensions of $206 are not reviewed upwards to at least the poverty datum line because we came a long way encountering problems.

Even though the Heroes holiday was declared in your honour it is meaningless if you can hardly afford your basic needs.

Not all of us were gifted academically and some were not able to attain academic  qualifications and decent professions to live decent lives so we largely depend on our pensions.

However, the fact that we sacrificed our lives to free this country from colonial bondage deserves respect. It is now 38 years into independence and presently some people are chiding us why we ever went to war if we can’t even look after our families which we left behind to fight for our beloved Zimbabwe.

We must blame ourselves and those comrades who represent us in Government because even though we are in government there is nothing to show for it in terms of our welfare.

Many of our comrades died during the war and after independence and now the majority of us are above 60 years of age and very soon our group will be history.

Everyone knows that the former war veterans’ patron Mr Robert Mugabe had lost his love for us.

If we  do not get any reasonable increment this month end, do not despair, the God and  our ancestors who  took care of us during and after the liberation struggle will continue to do so.

We as veterans of the liberation stuggle hope the new dispensation led by the man of action Cde Emmerson Mnangagwa, himself a celebrated freedom fighter, will increase our pension.

We look forward to necessary benefits such as medical insurance and school fees to be instituted and reviewed periodically so that we are not disadvantaged in the society. I am  sure our Government will not forget us  like the previous war veterans patron.

Those who could not access land in the previous land reform programme must not give up but should register with relevant authorities.

Comrade Masanzu.