Parliament, Thursday, 15 February 2024 – The Portfolio Committee on Defence and Military Veterans received a status update on the rollout of pension benefits on the part of the Department of Military Veterans and the implementing agent, the Government Pensions Administration Agency (GPAA). The committee heard that to date, 268 qualifying military veterans have received their pension benefits. This led the committee to express concern about the slow pace at which the military veterans are receiving their pension benefits. The committee noted that the department will have to surrender any unspent funds to the National Treasury due to the inability and department and the GPAA to move with the necessary speed to process the payments. The GPAA told the committee that it received over 19 000 applications for military veterans pension benefits. It expects that, by the end of March 2024, it will have approved and paid at least 4 000 applicants. The GPAA also told the committee that another 229 veterans have been approved but not paid, because they still need to provide the GPAA with banking details. Most of them have been sent letters and messages to their cell phone numbers about this requirement. The committee also welcomed the information that even though the number of veterans who have received payment is very low, some positive movement on payment of pension benefits has been achieved. Furthermore, it welcomed the undertaking GPAA officials have made to work overtime to ensure the GPAA reaches its target of 4 000 paid cases by the end of March 2024. The Chairperson of the committee, Mr Cyril Xaba, reminded the department that time is running out and that an amount in excess of R250 million, representing 75% of what was allocated for the military veterans pension benefits in the current financial year, would be surrendered back to the National Treasury if the number of pension beneficiaries remains low. This will be the second year that the department has failed to spend the budget set aside for the military veterans pension benefits.. ISSUED BY THE PARLIAMENTARY COMMUNICATION SERVICES ON BEHALF OF THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON DEFENCE AND MILITARY VETERANS, MR CYRIL XABA For media enquiries or interviews with the Chairperson, please contact the committee’s Media Officer: Name: Jabulani Majozi (Mr) Parliamentary Communication Services Cell: 083 358 5224 E-mail: jamajozi@parliament.gov.za
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