Mpho Dube - Former soldiers who fought against the apartheid regime are fighting for survival and it remains to be seen who will be a buffalo soldier in the heart of Limpopo. “We are hungry, ailing and bankrupt but we fought for freedom and enough is enough.” Those were the words of former members of the Azanian People’s Liberation Army (Apla) and Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) recently at the Premier’s Office where they gathered to set the record straight. Treasury MEC Sa’ad Cachalia, accompanied by Public Works MEC George Phadagi, accepted the memorandum of the former soldiers on behalf of Defence Minister Lindiwe Sisulu. Cachalia promised to deliver the memorandum to Sisulu and said that he is confident that the matter will be attended to unconditionally. An ex-soldier, Mr Sipho Sagale said government has forgotten about soldiers who fought for freedom and democracy. He accused government of dragging its feet despite promising that it will address their (ex-soldiers) troubles after Nelson Mandela was inaugurated as the first democratically elected President of South Africa on 10 May 1994. Speaking to Polokwane Observer, Sagale reiterated that it was not the first time that ex-soldiers voiced their concern to the new administration under leadership of President Jacob Zuma. They also appealed to government to compensate the families of former soldiers who died in the struggle against the apartheid regime. Sagale urged the Zuma administration to employ former soldiers in various government departments because they are unemployed and living under seriously deteriorating social conditions.