By Bida Elly David
National Minister of Finance and Economic Planning has said that his ministry is not responsible for handling matters related to wounded heroes, but rather coordinates with the appropriate authorities.
This statement comes in response to clashes between the ministry’s security personnel and the wounded veterans who protested for their delayed dues on Wednesday.
“The Ministry of Finance and Planning wants to make it clear that the responsibility for managing the affairs of our wounded heroes lies with the Ministry of Defense and Veterans Affairs,” Dr. Bak clarified in a statement issued on Wednesday evening.
He further explained that the veterans should have addressed their grievances through coordination with the Ministry of Defense.
Addressing any doubts and blame games, Dr. Bak mentioned that the finance ministry has been releasing funds to the defense ministry for the veterans’ affairs, and it should have been the responsible ministry’s duty to handle the matter before it escalated.
“In our government’s commitment to our wounded heroes, the Ministry of Finance and Planning released a payment of USD 2 million in November 2023 and an additional USD 1 million in January 2024,” disclosed the finance minister.
He emphasized that the funds were transferred to the bank account of the Ministry of Defense and Veteran Affairs to address the needs of the wounded veteran soldiers.
Dr. Bak refuted claims that the ministry has a dedicated budget from foreign donors to cover medical allowances.
“We wish to clarify that this information is not true; the government does not have foreign donors’ support for the medical benefits of our veterans, and this is managed out of the conventional budgetary allocations of the Ministry of Defense,” he clarified.
Expressing regret over the clashes that occurred on Wednesday between the ministry’s security forces and the wounded heroes, Dr. Bak reassured the gov’t’s commitment to addressing the veterans’ concerns.
The minister extended words of sympathy to those who sustained injuries during the protest and expressed that the government was closely monitoring their conditions.
He also provided relief by reporting that there were no fatalities among the injured personnel.
On Wednesday morning, police reported that at least three security personnel were injured during clashes between wounded heroes and security officers guarding the National Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning.