VETERANS of the country’s liberation struggle have written to Time Bank seeking to be included among 10 groups of people to be compensated under the US$38 billion loan proposal to the government from the financial institution.
This comes as the bank had increased the loan offer from US$35 billion in September to US$38 billion to help pay white former commercial farmers who lost their land, as well as other people who are owed huge sums of money by the State.
In a recent letter to Time Bank, war veterans Douglas Mahiya, Richard Chirongwe and Everisto Pfumvuti said the ex-combatants must be part of the 10 groups of people the bank wanted compensated.
“Firstly, we appreciate your great effort as a bank to come up with the home-grown solution which can resolve major financial challenges of Zimbabwe.
“However we note that in your loan proposal veterans of the liberation are not included as one of the groups to be paid compensation. There is no clear reason for the exclusion of veterans of liberation as one of the groups of people to be paid such compensations.
“We hereby request that veterans of the liberation be included on your list of those you classified as qualified to be compensated
“Veterans of liberation have time deficit to work for themselves, education, professions/jobs and a number of them are now suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, deteriorating health and general wellness as a result of war hence poverty of this nature,” wrote the trio.
“We expect everyone to know that veterans of liberation sacrificed a lot to liberate the country and that they deserve to be paid such compensations.
“In fact, we wonder why the business sector in general fear us and exclude us from a lot of business proposals, yet we are willing to engage in progressive discussions with anyone on how we can take the country forward together.
“We, therefore, request a meeting with you as soon as possible to enable us to understand various aspects of your loan proposal, including your reasons for excluding veterans of the liberation.”
In response, the bank denied having excluded the war veterans, adding the ex-combatants would be included under the Financial Inclusion Fund subject to “approval by government as mentioned in the published loan proposal of Time Bank”.
“We further advise that Time Bank of Zimbabwe can include veterans of the liberation as one of the groups of people to be paid compensations under Time Bank’s loan proposal of US$38 billion to government, provided that:
“Veterans of the liberation struggle also agree to support payment of compensations to all the 10 groups of people, including previous farm owners (PFO), pensioners, depositors of 2009, and ex-farm workers of PFOs, among others, in an inclusive manner, as stated in Time Bank’s loan proposal
“Government approves the inclusion of veterans of the liberation as one of the groups to be paid compensation under Time Bank’s loan proposal.
“The business environment remains conduicive to the implementation of Time Bank’s loan proposal.
“Time Bank’s loan proposal to government remains non-political,” the bank wrote.
Last week, Time Bank issued a statement reiterating its readiness to organise the loan to the government.
“Time Bank has proposed to arrange syndicate loans of US$38 billion to the government of Zimbabwe for the purpose of financing the payment of compensations to 10 groups of people, including previous farm owners.