Military veterans' needs assessment report

In October 2020, the Department of Military Veterans (DMV) of the Republic of South Africa commissioned the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) to assess the current needs of military veterans (MVs) and military veteran dependents (MVDs). The assessment was necessary because no comprehensive research had hitherto been done to determine the extent to which the DMV has facilitated delivery and coordinated all activities that recognise and entrench the restoration of dignity and appreciation of the contribution of MVs to freedom and nation building in South Africa. Although much effort has been dedicated to achieving the delivery of such services in the past decade, a lot remains to be done. High profile protest activity by MVs added urgency to this research. The Military Veterans Act (Number 18 of 2011) (MVA) places an obligation on the state to provide a range of services and benefits to MVs and MVDs. These include a military pension; housing; free access to military health services; free or subsidised access to public transport; skills acquisition and education support; job placement; burial support; entrepreneurial support services; and counselling.