Programme Director,
Chairperson of Plenary, Mrs L Daniels,
CEO of the Public Protector, Mr Themba Mthethwa,
Dr Kelebogile Mokoena from the University of Limpopo,
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and gentlemen,
This being a crucial gathering to look into matters affecting those in the twilight years of their lives, older persons, allow me to thank the organisers of this event for providing us the opportune platform to share what government is doing to uplift these members of our society.
We stand here cognisant of the reality that those who came before us, about whom we are here today, remain the torchbearers from whose wisdom we continue to learn. Theirs is not just plain wisdom, but one informed by countless years of life experiences which for many years shaped their being.
I make these assertions necessarily to validate our view that older persons continue to be reservoirs of knowledge, with more potential to participate in different affairs of society despite old age. As we yearn for their teachings, we can only wish them long life and help them engage in activities that will indeed prolong their lives. In our view, this must find expression in the legislative framework as well as policies that we adopt and implement to advance the course of older persons.
Amongst others, we must strive, as we do, to create a caring society that promotes and protects the rights of older persons. This we must do to safeguard these human treasures which we so much need at this juncture of our democracy, to enhance the noble agenda of moral regeneration and nation building.
The caring nature of our society should be reflected in the manner in which it treats its senior citizens. As government, we have created an enabling environment for older persons to flourish. This is reflected in the Older Persons Act, which seeks to maintain and promote the status, well-being, safety and security of older persons.
The objective of the Act is to also recognise the skills and wisdom of older persons while promoting their participation in community activities. This piece of legislation is inspired especially by the three priorities of the Madrid Plan of Action on Ageing. As you very well know, South Africa signed the declaration in 2002 and committed itself to implement this plan of action, whose three priorities are as follows:
- Older persons and development;
- Advancing health and well-being into old age; and
- Ensuring enabling and supportive environments,
The Second Assembly on Ageing which adopted this plan followed the first one which took place twenty years earlier in 1982 to assess the state of older persons and facilitate global consensus around an international plan to address the plight of older persons. Having signed the declaration, we had the responsibility to implement the plan’s recommendations.
Essentially, the first step towards the successful implementation thereof was to mainstream ageing and the concerns of older persons into national development frameworks and poverty eradication programmes. This necessarily required us to develop our own national plan of action. As part of these efforts, we have since held an African Conference on Ageing in August 2004, which led to the development of the South African Plan of Action on Ageing.
To this end, the basis of our approach is an agenda of social transformation that takes into account the principles of social justice and the Bill of Rights contained in the Constitution. This agenda is premised on government’s commitment to create a better life for the poor and vulnerable people, including older persons. This means that our policies and programmes should, in line with the Madrid International Plan of Action, seek to halve the numbers of older people living in extreme poverty by 2015.
Fortunately I stand before you a year after South Africa released its Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) Country Report, which notwithstanding high levels of income inequalities in the country, highlighted that we have reduced the numbers of people experiencing extreme levels of income poverty and achieved the target of decreasing the number of people living on less than one US dollar a day.
In this regard, some of the measures we pursue to fight extreme poverty and hunger are guided by government’s social protection framework that guarantees both social transfers and basic social services. The framework is based on three pillars, with the first focusing on targeted cash transfers for the vulnerable, including subsidised housing, free healthcare and free basic education for the poor, and a growing list of free social services.
Another pillar seeks to introduce a mandatory set social insurance schemes for all income groups up to a threshold, to provide benefits covering specified contingencies. The primary focus of the last pillar is on voluntary savings over and above the second pillar – by providing top up cover for pensions, risk benefits and health care.
Importantly, we must highlight that the Old Age Grant, which currently stands at R1 140, plays a crucial role in shielding older persons and their families from poverty. Over 2, 7 million older persons receive this grant at a cost of more than R3, 3 billion. Our social assistance programme does indeed pave the way for senior citizens to age in security and dignity. Notably, this reality is shared by the HelpAge International, in their report published in October 2006, titled: “Why social pensions are needed now”.
In the opening summary of the report, HelpAge International calls for a universal social pension for all people over 60 years in order to realise older persons’ rights and reduce poverty. Allow me to quote their assertion, which highlights the importance of social grants:
“Social (non-contributory) pensions are a valuable and strategic element of a minimum social security package that supports the realisation of rights, via implementation of the right to social security for all and furthering state provision of social protection for vulnerable people. Social pensions support commitments made by governments in the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing 2002 to halve the numbers of older people living in extreme poverty by 2015. They also make important contributions to older people’s empowerment and ability to claim other rights for themselves and their dependants.”
On measures to reduce poverty, HelpAge International lauds social pensions as an effective way of reducing income poverty and other forms of poverty among older people, further highlighting that “rather than creating dependency, social pensions actually reduce it”. This is one of the reports that reveal the real impact of social grants in making a difference in the lives of vulnerable citizens.
The vulnerability of people in households is further exacerbated by the impact of HIV and AIDS. Many households that are headed by older persons, particularly those that are home to orphaned and vulnerable children, enjoy support from the state through the Foster Care Grant.
Thus we should commend those older persons who continue to take care of their grandchildren. We wish them long life and assure them that their contribution towards nation building spans retirement. In the Department of Social Development, we have embarked on a process to recall retired social workers, some of whom are older persons, to come back and assist us bridge the skills gap in the social work profession. Indeed, this will be a dignified way for retired social workers to age actively.
It is our hope that in this way, we will be “treasuring our aged, who will assist us reach out the most needy and vulnerable, thus helping us achieve the MDGs.
