Special Hearings — Conscription Hearings — 1997-07-23

LT COL BOTHA: Thank you very much for this opportunityand thank you for inviting me to come and tell you more aboutCuramus.
 In 1904 Theodore Rooseveldt said "a man who was preparedto bleed for his country should receive a square deal afterwards",and that ladies and gentlemen is all what Curamus is standingfor.  We aim to rectify the problems and the misconduct that didtake place in some instances, to make sure that our men who wereprepared to pay the penalty, or pay the price and now sit withthe scars do get what they are entitled to.  
 First of all I would like to leave you at the end of my discussionyou should have a very clear indication of two concepts.  I'msitting here actually with a double head appointment.  First ofall I'm working for the defence force called Curamus Care forthe Disabled which is my paid job which I do every day, and thenin my private capacity I am the Chairman of the Curamus Associationfor Security Service Disabled where we represent disabled memberswho have been injured in the security forces of the defence force,the police service and the department of correctional services. 
 First of all the background to Curamus Care for the Disabled. It started out as a project back in April 1990 when the thenDeputy Minister of Defence, Mr Breytenbach, announced projectCuramus at the South African Medical Service thanksgiving paradewith the Surgeon General then as the project manager of projectCuramus.  It soon became clear that after we started out withthe project that the police service and the correctional servicesare sitting with similar problems that we are encountering interms of the handling, the treatment and the aftercare of ourmen and women who have been serving in the forces and have beeninjured in the process.  It soon developed into an inter-departmentalproject where it now is a fully fledged function within the securityservices with each department having his department of care forthe disabled looking after injured members.  
 We address policy issues within the defence force.  As you cansee I'm a disabled person, I'm working, I'm in uniform, I didmy courses as was expected of any other person that was supposedto be doing his courses to get his promotion.  I'm doing a fulldays job.  I might be disables but there is nothing wrong withmy head and I think that is the whole idea that the whole pleafrom an international point of view that we should emphasise theabilities of people with disabilities and not concentrate on thedisability and we should also concentrate on empowerment and enablementin order to let them take control of their lives and live a fulllife and offer them a career possibility or career opportunitieswhere possible.  
 I can offer you some statistics.  According to the White Paperon the Integrated Disability Strategy there are over 5 milliondisabled people in South Africa of which only 0.026 percent havegot jobs.  You can just imagine what the situation is in SouthAfrica in terms of job opportunities.  Everybody else withouta disability are experiencing problems in terms of job opportunities,nevertheless not to even mention what people with disabilitiesare experiencing.  
 We address issues where we look after people who are physicallydisabled, psychologically disabled and like John, that was herejust before me, as a matter of fact as I've indicated to Professorhere, that I would like to have a word with him and I think thegentleman that's going to be talking after me I had a glance athis notes just now and I think we've got a lot in common.  Maybewe should meet afterwards and discuss a few things in terms toprevent re-inventing the wheel because the system is already working. It is in place and their are people working and doing thingsfor people that have suffered because of their service in thesecurity forces.   We're looking at, as I've already mentioned,people who have got physical disabilities, psychological disabilitieswhere we refer to Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome.  There's a technicalpoint that I would like to point out in terms of the conscripts. The Department of Finance who is administering the Military PensionsAct, once they accept your application one can be entitled toa pension and this is not valid in all cases but I'm not goingto speak on behalf of the Department of Finances as there arecertain procedures that have to be followed and evaluations donein order to apply for such a pension, but in cases like the gentlemanthat spoke just before us I would like to leave that as an optionthat we could possibly discuss later on.  
 Lastly, I want to push on as Wilhelm indicated that I've onlygot ten minutes.  The Curamus Association for Security ServiceDisabled is an organisation that was founded in October of 1990. Just after the project was launched we soon realised that weneed to give the disabled members a platform from which they couldvoice their problems and their difficulties that they are experiencingtowards Government and the private sector to see in which waythey could make people aware of their difficulties.  I was electedas National Chairman in this capacity approximately two yearsago.  I've been serving there since and it's up and above a jobresponsibility that I've taken on, I'm not being compensated forit and we have got a fund at our disposal with which we assistingour members to obtain means and appliances and assistive deviceswhich is not being supplied for by the State.  As a matter offact on that point I think Professor Hattingh is just leavingthe door now but I would like to mention something that actuallycomes from the heart.  Please tell your mother that when I wasinjured doing my national service I was one of the guys lyingin the hospital that received a parcel when I was in the hospital,she was not caught for a sucker, there were many people who reallyappreciated it and looked forward to those parcels.  So that'sa word from the bottom of my heart.  
 We are experiencing difficulties in terms of assisting all ourmembers because of financial constraints that we are experiencing. I can imagine that there are many people stemming from thesehearings that are going to be approaching us.  Wilhelm has gotour telephone number and I would like to hear from anybody whohas had a disability or suffering or serving in the defence forceand the police service and the correctional services, twenty percentand more we perceive a twenty percent disability as the cut-offfrom there onwards up to a hundred percent, to contact us andplease let us form a united front and to address the problemsand the difficulties that many of us are experiencing and arebearing the witness to our experiences that we had whilst serving. Thank you.

PROF MEIRING: Lieutenant Colonel Botha thank you so muchsharing this with us.  Part of what we need to do at these hearingsis not only to look at the past but look towards the future andwhat can be done and you've given us some practical hope, thankyou so much for that.  Thank you for coming we really appreciateit very much.

LT COL BOTHA: Thank you very much.

PROF MEIRING: Thank you so much.  I would now like tocall upon Mr Ian Bruce to take his place at the table for thefinal submission.  You had a lot of patience to stay all throughthe day with us, thank you Mr Bruce.  Make that your souvenirof the day you can even ask the Chair to sign it for you.

CHAIRPERSON: And laminate it.

PROF MEIRING: Mr Bruce will tell the story of SAVA, theSouth African Veteran Association.  We are very privileged tohave you with us.  If you can press the red button, thank you.
SOUTH AFRICAN VETERAN ASSOCIATION (SAVA)