Malvern Mkudu

War veterans have demanded more land, access to credit, residential stands and other benefits at a meeting with President Robert Mugabe held in Harare yesterday.

The meeting came after war veterans were teargassed by the police after they tried to convene a meeting more than a month ago to present their grievances to the party leadership.

The former liberation war fighters demanded that the president appoints them in influential government positions such as those of permanent secretary and ambassador.

However the truth is that military officers have been seconded in paratstals and also occupy key government positions but the economy has not improved.

They said the indigenisation policy was a good government programme but it was being done in secrecy and none of them had benefited.

“We want 20 percent in every indigenisation deal” said Munyaradzi Machacha reading from a paper that had the war veterans resolutions.

However some Zimbabweans felt that the war veterans demands should not be taken seriously as the fighters were not speaking for the masses but only for themselves.

“Everyone is struggling in Zimbabwe surviving on $1 a day and our children are also out of school so where do these veterans think the money will come from?” asked Kainos Chikate.

He added  “They re-affirmed their support to the person ruining the economy so they must not cry foul. We are all struggling”

The war veterans were accused of only thinking of themselves instead of presenting the issues affecting the suffering masses to the President.

In a populist move President Mugabe immediately ordered the War Veterans minister to pay all the outstanding school fees of the former fighters children.