Theme: “Government’s pledge of support to non-government organisations (NGOs) rendering community-based services to older persons.”
Chairperson of Plenary, Rev John Phillips,
Minister of Health, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi,
MEC for Health and Social Development, Ms Dikeledi Magadzi,
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Thank you for convening this Conference, which will look into issues affecting the pathfinders of the current generation and of course “the guardians of our future”.
This gathering takes place at the time when we celebrate October as the Social Development Month, with the view to mobilise all our people, both young and old, to respect and promote the rights of the vulnerable members of society, including older persons.
This is largely due to our understanding that many older persons have made a meaningful contribution to fight for our liberation and in building a democratic South Africa. Essentially, the majority of these older persons were subjected to discrimination in the past. Their expectation is rightly that today should indeed be better than yesterday. They bear this expectation acutely aware that ours is a democratic society different from the apartheid regime that treated them with indignity.
The founding values and ethos of our Constitution clearly guarantee them the right to be treated with respect and dignity. It is in this context that as government, we are at the forefront of promoting and protecting the rights of older persons. It is also in this spirit, that we support the progressive forces in the civil society, who provide services to older persons in line with the Constitution.
In our view, it is a blessing to have the presence and positive influence of older persons at this juncture in our society, especially in the light of moral decay. Due to the experience and influence of older persons, our efforts towards moral regeneration will only succeed if we bridge the gap between old and young generations. We know that older persons, especially grandparents, have the potential to bridge the gap between parents and children, thus making a difference in instilling moral values and positive teachings in the young generation.
It is therefore the responsibility of all of us to create a caring environment for them. We believe that these senior citizens must be treated with love, respect, care and dignity. There is a tendency among the young generation to consider older people as an inconvenience or a burden. Some young people do not understand that as their parents grow older, they rely on the young ones for care, love and support.
This is a very sad reality because at times older persons are put into old age homes because their children at home are reluctant to give them the much needed care, love and support. Government believes that older persons should be able to live in dignity and security, and be treated with respect regardless of gender, disability or race.
The Older Persons Act enjoins us to build a caring society in which older persons enjoy a life of fulfilment, health, security and active participation in the economic, social and cultural life of society. All of us must know that the creation of this kind of society is our individual and collective responsibility. We must do this in the spirit of defending the gains we have achieved in our young democracy, which include a Constitution that enshrines the rights of all people to dignity, equality and non-discrimination on the basis of age.
As government, we recognise and acknowledge the need for partnership with civil society to build a society that protects older persons and their rights. We are working with non-governmental organisations such as the South African Older Persons Forum, Alzheimer South Africa, Age in Action as well as Action on Elder Abuse South Africa, amongst others. The Department of Social Development develops specifications that are linked our strategic plan for NGOs to submit business plans to be considered for funding. The department then approves funding in line with its key strategic objectives and availability of budget.
Our expectation is that they must deliver services as outlined in their business plans according to the funded objectives. They are also expected to give us quarterly reports on progress made in the implementation of their programme. This includes submission of financial records to enable the department to assess whether the NGOs comply with provisions of the Public Finance Management Act. We are always prepared to capacitate NGOs in terms of all contractual obligations, financial management and reporting issues that will assist them to deliver services in line with the department’s expectations.
The Older Persons Act (Act 13 of 2006) describes the services that community based care and support services should render including residential facilities. There are also norms and standards for provision of community based care and support services and residential facilities for older persons that are incorporated in the regulations for implementation the Older Persons Act.
We are concerned about residential facilities whose operations are inconsistent with the norms and standards, often resulting into incidents of fire in facilities that house older persons. This is not in line with our desire to protect older persons. Older persons must not be subjected to secondary abuse in homes or residential facilities. We therefore urge all NGOs to comply with the set standards and the legislation.
Ladies and gentlemen,
I must highlight, in conclusion, that we launched the Charter on the Rights of Older Persons in March this year in collaboration with the South African Older Persons Forum. We launched this Charter to highlight that older persons’ rights are also human rights. This was another important step in our endeavours to build a caring society towards older persons.
Our view is that older persons must continue to live purposeful and meaningful lives. They must not be taken advantage of or be subjected to any form of abuse or victimisation. Our senior citizens must know their rights and ensure that they participate in the life of our country. They must know that active ageing comes with benefits such as good health, independence, intellectual stimulation, self-fulfilment and friendship. They must continue to be exemplary figures whose actions are worth emulating by younger generations.
Thank you
