The Military Veterans Act of 2011: Promising More Than can be Delivered?

This briefing by the Institute for Security Studies examines the Military Veterans Act of 2011 in South Africa, analyzing the gap between the legislative promises of benefits for former combatants and the practical capacity of the Department of Military Veterans (DMV) to implement them.

• The Military Veterans Act No. 18 of 2011 replaced the 1999 Act to provide a more holistic framework for benefits, though the timing of the new Act led to suspicions that it was intended as political payback.
• The Act defines military veterans as South African citizens who served in the Union Defence Force before 1961, rendered service to statutory and non-statutory military organisations from 1960 to 1994, or joined the SANDF after 1994. However, the definition is considered vague as it does not list specific organisations or required lengths of service, and it excludes former conscripts.
• Entitlements under the Act include housing and burial support, pensions, health care access, transport subsidisation, education, skills development, and compensation for disabling injuries or psychological trauma. The government views these not as pure welfare, but as an investment in the country's human resources.
• The Department of Military Veterans (DMV) faces significant operational challenges, including unfilled posts among its 169 approved positions and a limited budget of approximately R52 million for 2012/2013. This budget is split between administration (R18.6 million), socio-economic support (R21 million), and empowerment and stakeholder relations (R11.4 million).
• Dissatisfaction with the slow pace of delivery led to protests in April 2012, where approximately 250 former APLA and MK liberation fighters demanded specific concessions from the City of Johannesburg, including 10% of business opportunities and priority for city jobs.

APA

Hendricks, C., & Bwalya, H. (n.d.). The Military Veterans Act of 2011: Promising More Than can be Delivered? Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.org/iss-today/the-military-veterans-act-of-2011-promising-more-than-can-be-delivered

Chicago

Hendricks, Cheryl, and Henrietta Bwalya. The Military Veterans Act of 2011: Promising More Than can be Delivered? Institute for Security Studies, n.d. https://issafrica.org/iss-today/the-military-veterans-act-of-2011-promising-more-than-can-be-delivered.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Hendricks |first1=Cheryl |last2=Bwalya |first2=Henrietta |title=The Military Veterans Act of 2011: Promising More Than can be Delivered? |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |url=https://issafrica.org/iss-today/the-military-veterans-act-of-2011-promising-more-than-can-be-delivered |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{hendricksndmilitary, author = {Hendricks, Cheryl and Bwalya, Henrietta}, title = {{The Military Veterans Act of 2011: Promising More Than can be Delivered?}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, url = {https://issafrica.org/iss-today/the-military-veterans-act-of-2011-promising-more-than-can-be-delivered}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }