Programme director
Honourable Premier, Dr Zweli Mkhize
Deputy Minister of Social Development, Bathabile Dlamini
MEC for Social Development, Dr Meshack Radebe
Honourable Mayor of Ugu district municipality, Mr S Cele
Representatives of civil society and government officials
Representatives of the South African Older Persons Forum
Our senior citizens and young people
Ladies and gentlemen
Sanibonani boGogo naboMkhulu, ninjani!
It gives me great pleasure to join you here today in celebrating the official launch of the Older Persons Act (Act 13 of 2006). From the outset, I would like to thank the KwaZulu-Natal provincial government for organising this important event.
I am especially pleased to see that young people are here in full strength alongside our senior citizens. We see again the importance of promoting intergenerational solidarity between older persons and young people.
Today we have an invaluable opportunity to share experiences, generate awareness, and most importantly, further develop the discussion on approaches needed to promote intergenerational solidarity.
Ladies and gentlemen, you will agree with me that today is undoubtedly, an important day in our government's endeavours to build a caring society.
It is fitting that we officially launch this act as a build up activity to the celebration of the Nelson Mandela international day. There is hardly a more appropriate manner to celebrate the Nelson Mandela international day than to focus on the contribution of older persons to the process of building a new South Africa.
As a department, we deliberately chose to officially launch this act today to highlight the critical role of older persons through their volunteer work, transmitting experience and knowledge and helping their families with caring responsibilities.
Ladies and gentlemen, the challenge of an ageing population is a truly global one. According to World Health Organisation (WHO) global ageing is occurring at a rate never seen before, with enormous consequences for developing and developed countries.
Population experts project that by the year 2050 the numbers of people over 60 will rise to one in every five, and to one in every three by 2150. A large percentage (over 80 percent) of this increase is in poor developing countries.
In South Africa the growth of the ageing population has followed global trends. According to Statistics South Africa census data (1996 and 2001 respectively) the proportion of people over 60 years has grown significantly, from seven percent in 1996 to just below eight percent in 2007 (Community Survey data, 2007).
It is projected that the population of older persons will exceed eight percent by 2014. Ladies and gentlemen, some of you may argue that this number is statistically insignificant because it is marginally lower than the average proportion estimated at eight percent, and substantially lower as compared to the developed countries where the figure is as high as 19 percent. However this percentage is higher than the average for Africa, which is estimated at five percent.
In terms of the overall distribution of older person in South Africa, the largest concentration of older persons is in this province (KwaZulu-Natal) and the Eastern Cape provinces, where the proportions are (11.9 percent) and (18.0 percent), respectively.
Coincidentally, these two provinces are predominantly rural and characterised by high levels of poverty. As is the case worldwide, women (with an estimated 61, 6 percent) represent the largest number and proportion of older people in South Africa.
This reality calls for a concerted effort from all sectors of society to address the needs of older person. At the same time, we need to build a caring society for all ages, a society that enable older person to play a more meaningful role and enjoy active ageing.
Given the foregoing circumstances, it is without question that the interests of older persons need to be at the heart of government's development programmes, if we are to successfully focus on the poorest, most vulnerable and marginalised members of our society. Older persons deserve to have their rights realised and their specific needs met so that they can live lives of dignity and make a contribution to our society.
Our government is committed to working with all sectors of our society to ensure that the rights of older persons are at the heart of the development agenda. Within the framework of our Constitution, the Older Persons Act is intended to ensure that the rights, dignity and independence of older persons are upheld.
The vision set out by this act is a radical one in which age is no longer a barrier and older people's human rights are central to policy and practice. Briefly, the main objective of the Older Persons Act is:
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maintain and promote the status, well being, safety and security of older persons
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recognise the skills and wisdom of older persons
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promote participation of older persons in the community activities
The act provides a framework aimed at the empowerment and protection of older persons, and the promotion and maintenance of their socio-economic status. As a caring government, we are determined to ensure that as people grow older, they enjoy a life of fulfilment, health, security and continue to actively participate in the economic, social, cultural and political life of our society.
Today, as we launch the Older Persons Act we recall the fact that too many of our older people continue to live in poverty, face negative perceptions about ageing, continue to be victimised by merciless criminal elements and worst of all, face abuse, neglect and exploitation sometimes by their very own family members.
The reality in most of our communities is that older persons continue to bear the triple burden of providing care and support to an increasing number of orphans and vulnerable children, caring for their own chronically ill children and facing the financial burden with limited resources at their disposal.
We have all heard of horrifying stories of the abuse and neglect of older people within their own families and in residential facilities. As you all know, many older persons may be reluctant to report abuse, particularly when the abuse occurs within a relationship in which there is an expectation of trust.
If an older person is being abused by a close family member, the older person may not wish to upset that relationship. Similarly, if the abuse is perpetrated by a caregiver, the older person may be reluctant to report it.
Sometimes neither the abused nor the abuser may recognise the actions as abuse. This may be particularly true in cases of financial or psychological abuse. Either of these forms of abuse can be more insidious, and less easily recognised, than any other type of abuse.
As a country, we can never boast to be free whilst senior citizen who fought hard for this freedom continue to suffer and do not enjoy all of the rights enshrined in our Constitution.
The abuse of older persons in any form is totally unacceptable and I want to reaffirm our government's commitment to tackling all forms of abuse against them. As communities we need to be vigilant and report any form of abuse of older persons.
It is important that we continue to create awareness of protection services provided by government, civil society and community based organisations. The Department of Social Development will continue to work closely with all other government departments and agencies until the best possible measures are in place to protect our most vulnerable older persons.
Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to reiterate that as government we are determined to ensure that our senior citizens grow old with dignity and they continue to make huge contributions to their families and communities.
For this reason, our government has over the last 15 years intensified and devoted its attention to the human rights of older persons. Through this act we want to make sure that the voice of the older persons, the social and economic issues affecting them are not marginalised but are considered and taken on board when policies are planned and implemented.
This act reaffirms the traditional esteem and status of older persons whilst acknowledging and supporting their changing roles in the face of contemporary social challenges.
It is well known that older persons already make major contributions to society, for instance, in our communities and throughout other parts of the African continent, millions of people infected and affected by HIV and AIDS are cared for at home by their parents.
In this regard, I would like to put on record my appreciation, and pay tribute to the older people in our country who continue to provide care and support to their children, grandchildren and many orphans and vulnerable children in their families and communities.
One of the main areas of focus of the act is the protection of our senior citizens from all forms of abuse. The act provides for anyone caring for older persons to take necessary measures steps to ensure their safety.
Of importance and worth mentioning is that this act is intended to enable intergenerational care and support within families and communities, and thus promotes the spirit of Ubuntu. I am sure that all of us have been inspired by yesterday's intergenerational dialogue between older persons and young people in this municipality.
The dialogue highlighted the importance of intergenerational solidarity and highlighted the need to keep older persons in the community within the family's neighbourhood and with family and friends as long as possible.
Additionally, the dialogue highlighted that older persons seek relationships outside of the family to entrench their own social integration and inclusion.
Ladies and gentlemen, while we acknowledge that the family should be the first and primary line of care, the act also recognises that there will always be those older persons who will require institutional or residential care.
With respect to institutions of care, the act protects the rights and dignity of older people by ensuring that no older person will be placed in these facilities without their consent. Stringent measures are put in place to ensure that only those who are eligible for admission in these facilities are considered for admission.
Since 1994 the eradication of poverty among older persons has been, and still remains a fundamental aim of the African National Congress. In this regard we have taken necessary measures to ensure that the particular needs of older persons are specifically addressed in poverty eradication strategies and programmes.
South Africa is one of the few African countries that provide non-contributory old age pension to over two million people. Research has clearly shown that the provision of old age pension not only benefits older persons, but that it helps the whole family: children, grandchildren and other members in their community.
To ensure gender equality within our social security system, and as part of our commitment to the first millennium development goal of halving poverty by 2015, government introduced the age equalisation in respect of old age grant.
Through these measures, our government is sending out positive messages through our policies and programmes that older persons have a right to a healthy and productive life and to live in a caring environment and to be treated with respect and dignity.
Ladies and gentlemen, one of the biggest challenges in our country which is a major contributor to old age poverty is that the majority of our people retire with very insufficient savings when they reach pensionable age.
To address this, our government has undertaken a comprehensive reform of the social security and retirement provisions. This we believe is the first step towards rectifying the current policy gaps with regard to retirement and expanding the social security system.
Through these reforms, we intend to lay a foundation for a retirement system that will resonate with the needs of the majority of South Africans. This is the social contract that we made with our people through the Freedom Charter.
Ladies and gentlemen, one of the main priorities of the Department of Social Development is to implement the Madrid plan of action on ageing, to which South Africa is a signatory. The plan is a crucial policy document which provides a framework in respect of issues relating to older persons.
At the core of the plan is the promotion of the rights, independence, participation, care, self-fulfilment and dignity of older persons. As a department, we have developed the South African plan, which is consistent with the Madrid plan of action. This plan is intended to be a living document with annual action plans and monitoring and evaluation system for government and civil society.
I am encouraged to see that the Ugu district municipality has begun to integrate issues of older persons into the broader development context. This is a positive step which other municipalities must emulate because the concerns and needs of the older persons are an integral part of the economic and social fabric of all societies.
As such, these issues need to be incorporated in development plans, not only at the national level but also at local government levels, since it is at the grassroots that the most vulnerable groups can be targeted, and the efficient delivery of services and support can be achieved. The Older Persons Act gives us an opportunity to move in this enlightened direction.
In conclusion, I would like to salute the spirit of partnership in evidence here today among all spheres of government, civil society and community based organisations. And I would like to take this opportunity to join in spirit with the MECs in other provinces that are also embarking on similar activities focusing on the Older Persons Act.
Ladies and gentlemen, it is now my pleasure and humble duty to formally launch the Older Persons Act (Act 13 of 2006).
Ngiyabonga.
Source: Department of Social Development
