The Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association on Saturday held its annual general meeting in Harare, with delegates from all 10 provinces converging to review progress, confront outstanding welfare concerns and map a new course aimed at strengthening the organisation and improving the livelihoods of its members.

The meeting, held at a Harare hotel, brought together provincial chairpersons, who made contributions on behalf of their respective memberships. It was the association’s first annual general meeting since 2024, when the current national executive was ushered into office.

No AGM was held last year due to legal disputes that affected the association’s operations. However, delegates heard that the organisation had since registered major progress in resolving most of the legal challenges, paving the way for renewed institutional stability and the implementation of programmes targeted at war veterans.

National chairman Moffat Marashwa presented a report outlining the association’s efforts to rebuild its structures and mobilise resources for projects meant to benefit members across the country.

Among the initiatives highlighted were engagements with embassies of friendly countries to seek support for the establishment of office accommodation at national, provincial and district levels. The association is also pursuing the sourcing of equipment and implements for mining, agriculture and other income-generating projects for war veterans.

The thrust, according to the report, is to move the association beyond dependence on welfare support and towards sustainable economic participation by its members.

Addressing the AGM, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi congratulated the association’s leadership for pursuing what he described as an orderly, transparent and legally compliant revival process.

“Today we extend our formal and wholehearted congratulations to the association for their clarity of vision, institutional discipline and legal diligence in spearheading the vital resuscitation framework,” said Minister Ziyambi.

“By systematically aligning this revival with the strict provisions of the PVO Act, this leadership signals to the entire nation that the association is prepared to operate transparently, accountably and lawfully.”

Minister Ziyambi said the association should build on the legal and organisational gains it has made by playing a more active role in the country’s economic development agenda.

“To fully realise this constitutional promise, the association must decisively transcend a legacy of historical grievance and fully transform into a dynamic vehicle for active economic modernisation,” he said.

“I challenge this newly verified leadership to directly complement Government’s economic blueprints by unlocking self-sustaining commercial pathways for your members.”

His remarks placed economic empowerment at the centre of the association’s future, with mining, agriculture, procurement opportunities and institutional resource mobilisation identified as key areas for possible growth.

While the AGM acknowledged the progress made in stabilising the association, provincial representatives raised a range of concerns affecting war veterans and their families.

A major issue was the demand for the full payment of outstanding gratuity arrears, in line with a High Court ruling. Delegates said members expected the ruling to be implemented in full so that war veterans could receive benefits due to them.

The meeting also called for the implementation of a 20 percent quota for war veterans in all public-sector procurement processes. Members argued that meaningful participation in Government procurement would create viable business opportunities and support the broader economic empowerment of the liberation war veterans community.

Other key concerns raised included:

Allocation of land to war veterans who have not yet benefited from land reform programmes.

- Access to affordable medical aid for members facing serious health challenges and high treatment costs.

- A review of the current monthly pension of US$153, which many members described as inadequate in the face of rising living costs.

- Waiver or reduction of what were described as exorbitant mining charges, which have made it difficult for war veterans to venture into small-scale mining.

- Faster reburial of fallen heroes whose remains are yet to be properly interred.

- Establishment of fully operational offices at national, provincial and district levels, supported by adequate resources for mobilisation and administration.

The deliberations reflected a strong desire among war veterans for practical interventions that go beyond ceremonial recognition of their liberation war contribution.

Delegates stressed that access to land, mining opportunities, public procurement, medical support and improved pensions would enable many war veterans to live with dignity while contributing productively to national development.

The association’s leadership was also urged to ensure that the resource mobilisation drive reaches grassroots members in all provinces, districts and communities, rather than remaining concentrated at national level.

With legal battles largely behind it, the Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association now faces the task of turning its revived structures into an effective platform for economic empowerment, welfare advocacy and the protection of the interests of its membership.