SA Students in Cuba Live In Horrendous Conditions, Worse than Prisoners

• South African Air Force students are allegedly living in horrendous conditions and being treated by slaves
• The students have complained of being forced to wear outfits that resemble prison outfits from the apartheid era
• They are also allegedly being forced to perform manual labour such as cutting grass with machetes

CUBA - South African Air Force students in a pilot training programme are allegedly being forced to live in horrendous conditions.

They are also allegedly being forced to perform menial tasks such as cutting grass using machetes under the guise of physical training.

Many of the trainees feel like they are being treated like slaves. The uniforms they are forced to wear are similar to those worn by prisoners during apartheid according to the Mail and Guardian.

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SA students were allegedly beaten by police

Earlier in November, a video did the rounds on social media allegedly showing what appeared to be police officers beating a group of people.

It later emerged that the video was of a confrontation between the authorities and a group of medical students from South Africa.

One of the students said that they were having a party and someone called the police and complained about the noise.

The Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco) is investigating the incident according to News24.

'Cuba wastage adds up': Military Veterans incur irregular expenditure of R2bn

Earlier, Briefly News reported that the Defence and Military Veterans Department faces a budget deficit of over R2 billion due to irregular expenditure.

According to the office of the Auditor-General, the deficit spending occurred during the 2020/21 financial year. A deficit occurs when the government, or in this case a department that is overseen by the government, exceeds its spending revenue.

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'Jobless' Military Veterans demand R4 million each, government rejects requests

In related news, Briefly News reported that the Military Veterans Association put forward the hefty demand for a once-off payment of R4 million from the government.

This request was on Wednesday declined after the military vets pushed to have their members compensated for the sacrifices they made during apartheid.

Thabang Makwetla, the deputy minister of defence and military veterans, revealed this during a portfolio committee meeting in parliament, TimesLIVE reported.

Briefly News understands veterans have had long-standing grievances around unemployment and a general lack of housing.

One of the points of contention has been the nonpayment of other benefits to veterans and their families.

“The main concern which the committee must be aware of is the demand by military veterans that they [are] given a once-off R4 million payout to each of them," said Makwetla.

Source: Briefly News