Transcription
A very warm welcome to another episode of Praag TV. If you have not yet subscribed to the channel, please do so by clicking the button as well as the bell so that you may receive notifications of future videos. Also, feel free to check out our bookstore below the screen where you can purchase one of our interesting titles at a very reasonable price and receive it nationwide by courier within 24 hours. Now today's topic is, are all white men entitled to register as military veterans? And on the other side of the connection, I have Dr. Lawens Beers, he is an expert in this field and he will also tell people how they can get free medical care as a military veteran. Good afternoon, Dr. Beers. Afternoon, Dr. Dan Rod, how are you? >> No, I'm doing very well. And you? Uh, Dr. Beers. >> No, excellent. Um, thank you. Well, you told me the staggering news a while back that everyone who was in the defense force under the old regime, all the conscripts, they can register as military veterans under the new system and then they get free medical care at a military hospital. Um >> yes, then uh that is correct. Um, I don't want to say it's kept a bit secret. I only found out about it myself five years ago. It was approved by legislation in 1994 when Roelf Meyer handed over around '94. One of the very last things he negotiated with Sir Ramaphosa and the ANC, and the MK soldiers, he negotiated that they would receive the same benefits as all MK soldiers if we are registered at the Department of Military Veterans here in Pretoria in Hatfield. And and you are now making it available to all the conscripts from back then and they can contact you and then you help them to go through the process. Is it a rather bureaucratic process? Um >> yes Dan, it is quite a cumbersome process. Um, um, firstly, uh, I just need to explain there are two registration categories. Everyone who did national service from '64 to '94. It doesn't matter if it was 9 months, 12 months, I did 12 months for example in '75, or two years until the year '94 can register. Is >> is there a cut-off point for the period or not? >> Yes. Yes. There is definitely a cut-off point. It's just from '60 to '94. After '94 there were no more white conscripts who did service. Uh >> yes, but I mean now if you say, well, in 1965 you only did six months or something. Um >> yes, you uh the shortest time you did is absolutely correct at the beginning, '465, people initially only did six months, then later nine months in the '70s to '576 a year, and then it changed to two years. But what it's about is if there is a record for you at the Department of Military Archives. They have all of South Africa's military records from the First World War onwards. Whether you were a permanent force or a conscript, they can trace you. Uh so if between '64 and '94, even if you did 9, 12 months, 24 months in the army, you qualify to register. Uh the other category is, of course, permanent force members. Any permanent force member before '94 and after '94 who is no longer in the employ of the current um South African National Defence Force can still register. There are no restrictions on them. So what kind of benefits are attached to registering and >> w if that's okay with you, can I first quickly explain the registration process, then we can get to the benefits if that's okay with you? >> d >> good. Good. Um, okay, um, the registration process. Firstly, uh, the law that determines this, uh, legislation to register, uh, as a military veteran at the Department of Military Veterans here in Hatfield, Pretoria. The law is the Military Veterans Act, 2011, in brackets, Act number 18 of 2011. Close the brackets. That is the legislation that determines the registration. I cannot refuse any white person, uh, who falls into those two categories. It's legislation. We are not allowed to refuse. >> Yes. Well, that's true, that's one of the things where there isn't a quota or anything. [laughs] No, it's unbelievable, you know, nobody can say exactly how many military veterans there are. There are apparently something like 200,000 more MK members than uh uh national servicemen and former uh white members. Uh, some of them are 51 years old. I don't know how they fought. They are getting younger and younger, but they are receiving full medical and a pension of R750. >> Wow. So you also get a pension of R700. >> Yes. I get it. I get, I get uh my military pensions for a few years now. Yes. It was initially the same as SASSA, but now it has increased to R750. >> My world. Well, but I want to tell everyone out there listening who did national service, you can draw R5700 a month per month from the state. >> Yes. Yes. R750. It will increase again at the end of the month. It will increase like SASSA increases, the military pension increases. Just another interesting thing. A person who receives SASSA, uh, who applies for the military pension does not lose their SASSA. So four or five months ago, up to about five months ago, SASSA deducted from the military pension. But they don't do that now. SASSA is now, uh, if I'm not mistaken, uh, about R3000 a month, plus then the person gets their military pension, which will then be R5750, increasing at the end of the month. I'm not sure by how much. And uh, but do you think people are aware of this? Are many of the white, the previously former white conscripts also receiving this? Or do you think there are still many people who don't know about it and are also not aware of the process and need help with the process? >> Dan, uh, most white men who were in the army, that's the largest group who will make use of this. Don't know about it at all. Many people, when they hear about it, they think it's a trick or a scam. But, uh, you know, all my friends who were in the army with me in '75 are drawing this benefit. I get free medical. Oh, I can tell you, I was in for an operation last year. A small inguinal hernia. One military hospital operated, almost not self-sufficient anymore. There are uh seven operating theaters. Six are closed. There's one small one on the seventh floor. Too small for major operations. They operated on me in a private hospital in Pretoria. Mediclinic, one bill was R80,000, the other R12,000. I was picked up by an ambulance from One Military Hospital on the morning of the 23rd of June, Monday morning last year, taken to Mediclinic. A well-known hospital. Five-star treatment, operated on. The next day after breakfast, taken back to One Military Hospital by Mediclinic's ambulance. Got back into my car, drove home, paid nothing, everything at home. R92,000. J fantastic. You know, if you think about what people pay for medical aid? You pay R700 a month to belong to a medical aid. Here you receive the R700 plus R50 plus you get medical care. >> in a >> Yes. Uh, just quickly, another example. So three years ago, a friend of mine developed severe diabetes. Then they amputated his leg at One Military Hospital, in the private sector, and then he got an infection in his back, also in a private hospital in Pretoria. He was in two different hospitals. His total bill for the two admissions was R380,000. One Military Hospital paid for everything at two private sector hospitals in Pretoria. The entire bill. >> Incredible. I mean, he probably also claimed for medical negligence or something like that. If I >> no, it's just diabetes. Okay. >> So that's basically, we'll now, we have spoken with you, we can now discuss the benefits further, but perhaps I should just explain to people how one goes about registering. >> But but you've almost started a business now that helps people to implement this. I, yes, I consult with people, uh, in my professional capacity, and I charge a professional fee of R400. But, uh, it involves, I help a person to get their military record. Once we have their military record, then I email them the application form. They fill in all the uh documentation, all the certified documentation. They send everything back to me. I make sure everything is 100% correct. I don't ask for any money until I have submitted a person's application. The day or two before I submit their application, the person pays me. They get proof. I have submitted their application, uh, at the Department of Military Veterans here in Hatfield. And then unfortunately, it takes seven or eight months before they are registered. And only if they are registered, not before, can I apply for medical aid and pension. >> Oh, I understand. Yes, it is a whole process and and you must naturally follow it and ensure it happens or does it just happen automatically? Once I have submitted the documentation according to the ANC's so-called Poppy Act, I cannot be further involved. I give them proof. I have submitted it. And then after seven or eight months, they have to follow up themselves if they haven't registered them and find out why they haven't registered. I see, well, that sounds excellent because, you know, I think there are so many people, especially us, who are struggling, you know, and especially with medical care, you know, it's really an absolute nightmare in this country because the state hospitals have fallen apart, you know, and private and the medical aids only pay for this and not for that, you know, um, it's already a big enough problem and yes, R750 a month is not to be sneezed at, you know, to receive every month. >> Yes, I speak with a lot of people and uh, our people out there are struggling. Uh, sometimes I almost feel guilty asking for R400. For some people, it's not a lot of money, but if someone is on SASSA, then R400 is quite a bit of money. But uh, there's quite a bit of admin involved. But uh, it's absolutely worth pushing through. I've had quite a few clients who are receiving their benefits. Uh, they are very grateful. Yes, but it's a slow process. >> And and what's good, you've already mentioned the medical care and the uh R750 allowance that one receives every month. And which is actually a pension. >> Yes, it's actually a pension then. Yes. Pen >> lifelong. Yes. >> Yes. Lifelong until you die. You receive it? >> Yes. But the other important thing is if a person dies, then, um, his wife can apply. Then half of the pension will transfer to her lifelong until she passes away. >> Excellent. >> Another very interesting thing, sorry. >> No, no, no, no, please interrupt me. We are very curious to find out about this. Uh, but the medical, interestingly enough, the wife also gets it lifelong. But there's an exception. Um, there, if you are, um, not married or divorced and you have a life partner, then, uh, you can also add your life partner. Then you send, you send me the document I tell you to send along. Then we add your life partner. Uh, some of our other friends have more than one life partner, but most of us white people only have one. So you may only add one. So, yes, your life partner gets it lifelong, but unfortunately, she doesn't get the pension if you pass away. >> I see in the case of someone who has more than one life partner, you are not white. What happens now? >> You may only choose one because some, with respect, some of our other colored friends have six or seven life partners. So you can only choose one then. >> Yes, choose the one you like the most. Oh, yes, I understand. Yes, no, that's sort of the principle of the first wife or something. I think in the Muslim, Muslims also have something like that. Yes. No, good. No, but that all sounds, uh, fantastic. Um, and what else can you tell us? >> I think I think that I, um, have explained the entire registration process because I think people are completely in the dark. Hm. >> The starting point is, we need to get a person's military record. Now, every person who was called up has a military record. The day they call him up, his record is captured on computer by the South African Defence Force. Um, permanent force or conscript. Now, what it's about is that record is a seven-page computer printout. That record is now on the uh, the uh, Defence Force's computer system. Now, what needs to happen now is that record needs to be retrieved from the Defence Force. I will now explain the process, and then be sent to Military Veterans. They don't have anyone's record. That's what it's all about. The record needs to be registered along with the person's application at the Department of Military Veterans, and then the person can qualify for benefits. So the starting point is, uh, I send the person a letter that he types out. Then he sends it to Military Archives here in Pretoria, as I've already mentioned. They have everyone's military record from the First World War onwards. If a lot of people, here and there, a person can't remember their service number, it's not a problem. They work from the ID number. The person just sends a copy of their ID. And earlier, two years ago, a year and a half ago, it took them five weeks, seven weeks to send it back. Now it takes us 10-12 weeks. The service is deteriorating. But, uh, I tell my clients, they must be patient. Without that record, your passport to registration, we cannot register a person. And only the person can apply for it themselves due to the Poppy Act. But but you guide the person in the process because you understand. >> I assist him. I explain the process to him. I draft a letter for him that he types out. Tell him to just sign his ID. Here's the email address, send it away. Be patient for 10-12 weeks. Then they email it back to him. As soon as he gets it, he emails it to me. Then I file it. Then I send the person the application form. The application form has 11 sections. Then I tell him how to fill in each section. It's not really complicated, but some questions are confusing. And, uh, then the person fills in the 11 sections. There's five or six certified documents. The person's ID, his wife's ID, the marriage certificate, proof of highest academic qualification, proof of address, and driver's license. All of that must come back. Everything comes back to me. I let the person know everything is in order. The person settles with me. I submit his documentation in Pretoria. That's basically the process. >> Excellent. That sounds very good. Um, and where can people contact you, Laurence? >> Uh, should I, um, >> look, we will put your email or something similar in the description of the video below. Yes, I would appreciate that. Should I give my WhatsApp number now? >> You can give it, >> but but we can also put it in the description of the video below. Just, just what. >> Yes, that's all fine. Um, yes, they can contact me via WhatsApp, then I send out the basic information. Then they have my email address, and then everything runs on emails. That's the easiest. If that's okay with you, I would like to discuss the medical benefits in a bit more detail because that is of great value to most people. >> Yes. Yes. Do it. >> How it works, the day a person is registered and applies for medical aid. He may, of course, not have other medical aid. If he has other medical aid, these people are not linked to any medical aid. I won't find out he has other medical aid. I just mention it in passing, but, uh, technically he should not have other medical aid. Then he fills in the medical aid. As I said, I didn't have other medical aid. I couldn't afford it. A single person cost me R750 a month five years ago when I stopped teaching. I stopped. I've been on military medical aid for four years now. So how it works is, um, the person fills in the application for him and his wife if he is married or life partner, sends it to Military, the uh, Veterans. I provide that documentation in detail. That's part of my service, my fee. And then the medical aid is quick, it's only five weeks, then you are on the medical aid. And yes, >> you wait eight months for the pension, >> but you are within five months, optimistically, >> or within five weeks. >> It works. >> Yes. No, I think that's, let me correct that quickly. One waits seven or eight months for registration. >> Oh, yes. Yes. The day one is registered, they are not big on sending emails. That's the Department of Military Veterans. They are also, uh, there are several lawyers who want to sue them. Their service is, with respect, tremendously poor, but, but nevertheless. Um, the day they register you, they do two things. They send an email. They don't like that one. Just "You are registered as a military veteran." Or they send you an SMS. Not a WhatsApp, just an SMS: "You are registered as a military veteran." Now, on that day, then a person can download the medical and pension forms and submit them. Now, firstly, the medical aid. If he then submits his form, I send the address where it can be emailed or submitted by hand in Pretoria. Just five weeks, then the person, he and his wife are on the medical aid. Yes, no, it's really worth it, you know, I think it can be a godsend for many people as far as medical care is concerned, and naturally the R750 per month. The medical aid was personally worth gold to me because, uh, you know, I use a bit of chronic medication, I get everything for free. How it works, the day they tell a person he is on the medical aid, he just needs to make sure he is on it. They told me I was on it. When I went to One Military Hospital, when I arrived there after five weeks, they said they had never heard of me. Then I went back to the men who are supposed to register me there on the second floor at the Department of Military Veterans in Hatfield. Sorry, they made a mistake, I'm not on it yet. Three days later, I was on it. Now, the big advantage is, no matter where a person lives in South Africa, every military camp has a clinic. Even if it's just a small sick bay. So now if a person lives in, um, Kuilrivier, there's a camp, uh, just outside Kuilrivier, about 60 kilometers away, there's a camp or 40 kilometers away, look for one in South Africa. Voortrekkerhoogte, Durban, the whole country, the whole Western Cape is full of camps. Let's say at Langebaan's camp, now the person, he and his wife walk in there with their ID book, that's your proof you take with you. You put your ID book down at the camp's sick bay, they look on the system, your and your wife's or life partner's details come up. They tell you, sit down, we'll arrange for our sister to see you, she'll take you to the doctor. He will then prescribe chronic medication for you for six months. All these military camps have a pharmacy. They are poorly, um, supplied. But how it works now, they can give you half of your medication. Then they give you a referral letter. Then you drive to the nearest pharmacy of their choice near the military camp. Then you take it to the pharmacy that partners with the Defence Force. Give it to the pharmacist. He dispenses all your medication that the Defence Force doesn't have at their military camp for you. You sign for it, you don't pay a cent, and you leave. Yes, every six months you get a new prescription. Uh, that's basically how it works. Now, suppose a person wants a knee replacement or has a heart problem. What, there are no restrictions on illnesses. They don't tell you, listen, when you apply, "Sorry, you don't have one leg," or like Discovery or any other medical aid, we exclude this or that. They cannot exclude anything. Most of your ailments that you have today, you picked up in the Defence Force. So it's 100% no exclusion. Suppose a person wants a knee replacement now and lives in Langebaan. Then they make an appointment for him, or he drives to two military hospitals in Cape Town. He sees a specialist. There's no waiting list. Three weeks, they operated on me. Now, they will decide whether they will operate on you in 2 Military in Cape Town, in Wynberg, in 2 Military, or in the private sector. That's their choice. Often they use their own specialists in the private sector along with a private sector specialist, in my case, to operate on you. So that makes it a very good medical aid. Especially if someone has a heart problem or, uh, develops a serious illness, everything is free, on the house. One waits a bit in queues. It's not like, um, Discovery or Bestmed. Sometimes you sit and wait a bit to see a doctor, you wait a bit at the pharmacy, but everything is free. Uh, so, so it's quite valuable, uh, in that regard. >> And and it is, of course, of better quality and less risky than state hospitals, I assume. >> Yes. Look, look, about 2000 people work at one military hospital. All the, all the departments work. Every department. There's a heart department, there's a brain surgery department, there's an orthopedic department, there's an ear, nose, and throat department, there's a nose department. I don't know what departments there are. So you see a GP, and they refer you to a specialist at One Military Hospital. Or you are in, uh, Durban, Bluff. You see a specialist there. Oh, you see a medical doctor at the information, the information, um, designers camp there in Durban, for example. If there isn't a military hospital, then they refer you directly to a, uh, specialist in the private sector. Directly. Can you, for example, say, get an MRI scan, because you know, even in the private sector, you know, with medical aids, they don't pay for that. You have to pay R1000 to scan you. Can you get it there? Then they have everything there. They gave me my, uh, scan. ER scan, what do you call it, ordinary scan, everything. They have everything at their large hospitals. Remember, uh, One Military Hospital was the largest military hospital in the Southern Hemisphere when it opened here in the early 80s. So it looks like a time capsule. Nothing has been improved after '94, but everything still works. So, yes, just quickly. There are four military hospitals in South Africa. One Military Hospital in Pretoria, Two Military Hospital in Cape Town, Three Military Hospital in Bloemfontein, and they have now opened Four Military Hospital in Port Elizabeth. So there are four of them. >> I see. But then there are, of course, all the camps where you can see a doctor and get your medication and, um, >> and uh, also, uh, which will refer you to the pharmacy or to a private specialist or whatever the case may be. >> Yes. Yes. Just so, there are two important exceptions. Suppose a person is not near a military hospital and the wife of the university is injured in the middle of the night or the person falls, then you may go to your nearest private hospital. They then call One Military or Three Military, whichever is closest to you, or Two Military, and say, listen, Mr. So-and-so or Mrs. So-and-so who is on your medical aid is here with us. We need authorization to admit her here. She broke her hip. Then they admit you to any private hospital. You can't just go to a private hospital, but the large military hospitals are open overnight. So then they admit you there, and then, uh, the military hospital closest to you will decide how long you have to stay there. Um, they will, if it's a serious injury, send an ambulance to come and fetch you. Say you go to Two Military then, if it's close to you or whatever. There's another exception. A friend of mine, about three years ago, he was driving alone. Then he had a heart attack. When he woke up, he was in, uh, Harry Smith's private hospital. When he opened his eyes, they said to him, "Sir, we hope you have medical aid. If you don't, you will now go from Harry Smith, unfortunately, the ambulance is ready to take you to the public hospital." Then he said, "Oh, slow down, men, I have full military medical aid. Call One Military, here's my ID number." Half an hour later, they said to him, "One Military says he must be transferred immediately to Pietermaritzburg, their heart unit." He was there for three weeks. Then One Military sent an ambulance. Then he was there for another two weeks at One Military Hospital. He didn't pay a cent. He was driven home. Everything for free. >> Wow, that's fantastic. Can you imagine, and in the private sector, even if you have medical aid, I think, you know, there are all sorts of co-payments and things. You know, it would have probably >> cost him something terrible. >> He would have had to pay R200,000 upfront, and no more. >> Yes. So that's basically the medical. Do you have any further questions regarding the medical, Dan? >> So, you and your life partner or your wife qualify for the medical aid, if I understand you correctly. >> Yes, 100% qualify. If you have children. Most people's children are grown up. If your children are younger than 19, they are also all on the medical aid. But the day a child turns 19, the person, the child is no longer on the medical aid. Uh, oh, there are a lot of benefits. Uh, for example, thousands and thousands of people, especially of color, their children's school fees are paid by the Department of Military Veterans. If your child, yes, >> your school sports are paid. Yes, remember these things, why they are so fancy. They were put in place for MK. Then Roelf Meyer crawled and talked nicely, and then we got it too. So, so that's what it's about. If a child is under 19, they pay all the school fees up to R80,000 per year. Yes. >> Can you believe that, the average Afrikaans state school out there? >> Yes. He, yes, all your school fees would be paid. But but unfortunately, for our guys who are now military veterans who were in the old army, they are probably no longer of the age where they have children. 95% uh no longer have children. Here and there, someone has remarried and has younger children, but that's the exception. But now, now I think perhaps these guys should get such young wives or something, you know, so they can, uh, expand the nation a bit, you know, expand or something. You know, see, the school fees are paid, the birth is paid, the school fees are paid, you know, it is >> uh, yes, well, the last thing, um, look, there's like, you have to earn less than R350,000 a year, then a child can go to university. If the child's points, young man or woman, the points are correct, the same system applies to military veteran, white or black, it's colorblind. If your child goes to university or University of Technology or a technical college. I'm not sure how much they pay all the fees if the child qualifies, but it goes through NSFAS. So that benefit is also there. Yes, actually, we don't realize it, but you know, one always hears these things from Scandinavian countries and places where, you know, France and wherever else where there is free medical care, but if you register yourself as a military veteran, then you also have free medical care and and a sort of minimum wage, you know, or a pension that you can draw. >> Yes. Absolutely. You know, um, the people who qualify for SASSA, as I said, that's now R3000, and then the person receives from five months ago, R3000 now plus R750. We are looking at over R8000. >> So you, you can combine SASSA and military veteran. >> Yes, it was never like that, but, uh, years ago, a friend of mine who was in the parachute battalion with me in '75. We were there. He always, um, he receives SASSA and the, uh, military pension, and they deducted his SASSA from his military pension. He wouldn't lie to me. So four months, five months ago, he sent me proof. They no longer deduct SASSA. Remember, there is tremendous pressure from the, um, black military veterans on the ANC government for better benefits. That's why it came through. >> So, uh, he receives, yes. He receives, he receives almost R9000 a month. He receives R750 plus R3000. That's almost R9000. That's R8750 a month. >> But but do you know, Laurence, when I listen to you, then I feel people should really make use of this. You know, because really, uh, there are some of our people who are struggling, but but even if you're not struggling that much, if you qualify for this thing, then you must receive it. You know, you must fill in your forms and whatever, and you can help them and get on the system. I >> and and you can use that time, that income that you have, you can also use it to work for the freedom of our people, you know, and and get involved in organizations and, you know, and and write things and make videos and whatever. Absolutely. Dan, I did this for free for the first two years, and then I've been busy with it for about a year and a half. Then I got so busy that I decided to charge a professional fee. Last year, I submitted more than 250 applications for people. Yes. This morning, when he contacted me earlier, I was still in my pajamas. That's why I was still busy, I couldn't officially speak with you on, uh, uh, on, uh, the video network as we are talking now. So, yes, uh, I'm quite busy. Uh, I don't earn, uh, a lot of money from this, but I feel I'm doing something for my fellow human beings, for Afrikaans and English people. My clients are about 70% Afrikaans and 30% English. Yes. >> I see. No, but I think you are really doing, uh, you know, an excellent service by informing people about this and helping them, you know, because any such terrible administrative process with the state, if you don't know where all the pitfalls and things are, and you don't have experience with it, then you can easily, you know, then the pap can easily fall on the ground, give the wrong answer on the form, then it might be rejected or something. >> I don't want to say it, but I come there a lot. They want to ban me already because I told them how bad they are here at the Department of Military Veterans. I told the lady in charge there, a black lady, you must, with respect, treat me with respect. I and the public pay your salary. Then she wanted me out. Then I said I will take legal action against you. Then they stopped. But but what I want to say is, uh, I don't want to say it, but there's a bit of racism with the applications. If you are white and your documents are not 100% uh correct, your application will fall on the floor. Unfortunately, that's just how it is. I've been there where, uh, our black friends, they go out of their way to help them, but our white people, they treat you like rubbish there. But but at SASSA, there's also something like that, isn't there? They are much stricter, they look at the conditions of SASSA. Um, I have friends who have been treated like dirt at SASSA, but there are many people who used to do SASSA applications. Uh, I don't do it anymore. Uh, but but, uh, many people pay. There are many people who handle SASSA applications for people, precisely because they don't want to stand in the queue. They treat white people terribly there, but back to the military veteran story, uh, that's why a person's documents, it's my job to ensure that it's 100% correct. But thank you very much, Laurence. It was an extremely interesting conversation, and I want to invite all our viewers, if you are interested, to find Laurence's contact details below in the description of the video. And the contact, and yes, uh, and he will help to quickly >> oh, sorry, Dan, we can quickly talk about the pension if you want. I think many people are already, it looks like we're running out of time. >> Yes, I think we have a bit of time left on this system. But let's make a follow-up video about the pension. What do you say? >> I don't know if it would be worth it. >> We can do a short one of about five or 10 minutes or whatever about the pension too. >> Okay. Shall we do that on another occasion? >> I think so. Yes. >> Okay. Excellent. Uh, Dan. Good. Uh, how, how should I send you my contact details? >> Oh, yes, just email or whatever. It doesn't matter. Oh, >> okay. >> Okay. >> If you have listened this far, thank you for your attention, and don't forget to subscribe to the channel. And then next time, we'll do it again. Goodbye. Thank you very much, Laurence. >> Thank you, Dr. Danroot. Have a nice day. All the best. Goodbye. M.