Independent legislator Temba Mliswa today queried how the number of war veterans had risen from 34 000 in 1997 to 142 000 this year.

He said the figure needs to be interrogated as there seems to be a high level of corruption, misinformation and a criminal element.

“Despite that increase, what boggles my mind is that 142 000 war veterans have been given $46 billion, which is US$57.5 million, 1% of the total budget while Social Protection has been given $50 billion, which is about US$63 million, 1.12% of the total budget,” Mliswa told Parliament.

Social protection is supposed to cover 3.8 million people in rural areas and 1.6 million people in urban areas that are facing food shortages.

It also covers pupils under the Basic Education Assistance Module. Although Mliswa said there were 4.8 million such pupils, there were only 1.5 million pupils under BEAM at the end of last year.