Programme directors
Honourable MEC for Social Development, Dr Meshack Radebe
Honourable Mayor, Councillor Yusuf Bhamjee
Religious and community leaders here present
Our beloved parents and grandparents
Comrades and friends
Ladies and gentlemen
Boys and girls
Good morning, Sanibonani, Ninjani?
I am extremely honoured to have the privilege of being the keynote speaker in honour of our senior citizens in my home town. I have so many fond memories of my childhood here. I always enjoy returning here to see the warm and welcoming faces of the good people of Pietermaritzburg. This is one place that I have always truly felt loved.
I thank you for the warm welcome. I want to especially thank our host today, the Umgungundlovu District Municipality, the provincial Department of Social Development and Ezemvelo KwaZulu-Natal Wild Life for organising this special event.
I also want to thank everyone for taking time from your busy schedules to join us here. Most importantly I would like to thank the management of local schools for allowing school children to be part of this important gathering. A gathering of this nature gives us the opportunity to instil in young people, a sense of respect for our senior citizens.
It is fitting that we celebrate our senior citizens during the Heritage Month because older persons are our proud heritage. Our elders represent a link between the past, the present and the future of all of us. Older persons represent an accumulation of human wealth and vast potential which can contribute creative solutions to many of the problems facing us today. As repositories of knowledge, values and wisdom, they play a decisive role in passing on cultural heritage from one generation to another. Indeed older persons are the custodians of our traditions, our heritage and our cultures.
I feel highly privileged to be in the presence of young people and older persons of our area a generation of the young and old united by one common goal to build a caring community. I am certain that you will all agree when I say that it is always a special moment when you spend time in the company of older persons because they are a fountain of knowledge. It is even more special to spend time in the company of young people because they are full of energy and are driven by the need to build a brighter future for themselves.
Our gathering here today is an indication that all of us belong to this community irrespective of our different ages and stages in life. As a community leader, the issues of older persons are very close to my heart because they have sacrificed a lot for us to be where we are today. We owe our freedom to older persons who were in the forefront of our struggle for liberation against apartheid.
Older persons in Pietermaritzburg and throughout South Africa played a crucial role in the development of the Freedom Charter the founding document our Constitution. Among those who made the ultimate sacrifice are Nelson Mandela, the late comrade Harry Gwala, Oliver Tambo, Ellen Khuzwayo and many heroes and heroines of our struggle who worked tirelessly and selflessly for our freedom.
The development and empowerment as well as the active participation of older persons in society is a project in which, I believe, we should all be investing to guarantee our future. Most of you are well aware that older persons play a very critical role in the upbringing of our children, particularly during these hard times where there are still high levels of poverty, HIV and AIDS, unemployment and other forms of vulnerability. Our senior citizens contribute immensely to the socio-economic status of many households in this area.
As government, we are fully aware that one of the challenges facing older persons is that many of them face a life of financial difficulties when they reach pension age. The majority of older persons in our communities 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
This state of affairs is variance with the promise of creating social justice and a fairer society. It is our responsibility to ensure that South Africans from all walks of life have the resources necessary to achieve a secure retirement.
Accordingly, the Department of Social Development has taken decisive actions to deal effectively with challenges facing older people in this country. I am proud to be a member of the African National Congress government that cares for its senior citizens. This is in keeping up with the provisions of our Constitution which enshrines the rights of all people in our country to dignity, equality before the law and non-discrimination.
We have since passed relevant legislation, namely the Older Persons Act No. 13 of 2006. The act is aimed at protecting and promoting the well being of older persons, addresses the issues of poverty and the changing role of older persons in society, and encompasses the main pillars of the Madrid plan of action on ageing, to which South Africa is a signatory.
To combat poverty among older persons, government introduced the new Social Assistance Amendment Act No. 6 of 2008 which allows men aged 63 to 64 to receive social grants. Since July 2008, over 70 000 men aged 63 and 64 years have received grants as a result of the age equalisation policy. Those aged 62 and 61 years are eligible in this current financial and then by 2010, men and women will apply for the grant from the age of 60.
The means test for the old age pension has also been reviewed, thus enabling more people to be at the qualifying age for receiving the old age pension. We have made significant progress with regards to the provision of income support for older persons. To date over 2,5 million older persons receive old age pension.
Over the years research studies have consistently confirmed that the old age pension not only reduces the occurrence of hunger and extreme poverty among older persons, but also facilitates household access to basic services and economic opportunities. It goes without saying that social pensions are an effective way of reducing poverty as older persons live and share resources with their families. Moreover, the old age pension has a substantial impact on child well being as it enhances school attendance, better nutrition among children and contributes to breaking intergenerational poverty. With all this measures in place, no older person in our country should go to bed hungry. I therefore would like to appeal to you to assist government to register older persons for various government services for which they qualify.
There is of course, only so much that government can do we need partnerships between all sectors of society from the national government, civil society, local government and the community as a whole to comprehensively address the needs of our senior citizens. Only then can we claim to be a nation of caring people. The family, the community, and the public sector should play complementary roles in providing a continuum of care to older persons.
Specifically these partnerships should seek to:
* eradicate poverty by empowering older persons to fully and effectively participate in the economic, political and social lives of their societies
* eliminate all forms of violence and discrimination against older persons
* provide opportunities for individual development, self fulfilment and well being through sport and recreation activities, and voluntary work
* provide psychosocial support, including intergenerational interdependence, solidarity and reciprocity for social development.
It is therefore my wish and hope that more partnerships and cooperation will be forged between government, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and the private sector to look comprehensively in all areas pertaining to older persons. As government we welcome today’s public private partnership initiative. This is the kind of initiative the Department of Social Development wants to support, encourage and even learn from. The development of services for older people continues to be a priority on the overall government agenda.
The cornerstone of our work is to support older people to live in their own community for as long as possible. We firmly believe that the family is the best institution to care for the older persons. We also believe that families should be motivated to care for the older people and feel that it is their responsibility to care for their welfare.
In this respect the department is piloting community based project in two rural areas with the view to promote active participation and independent living of older persons within communities. The projects further promote the intergenerational solidarity and transfer of skills and culture to youth. The department seeks to foster positive attitudes towards older persons through the concept of a ‘caring society’. The government encourages families to live with and take care of their older parents or grand parents
I would like to reassure you of our government’s commitment to our older persons who have contributed so much to this country. I look forward to continuing to work with you in the future to ensure that older persons enjoy a fulfilling life.
Through sport and recreation we will continue to engage senior citizens to be active participants in activities that enhance the quality of their lives such as physical exercise and recreation. In the next month we will host the Golden Games in the Eastern Cape the purpose of which is to encourage senior citizens to take active part in sport and recreational activities.
I have been reliably informed that as part of this celebration, the organisers have arranged various sporting activities. I therefore would like to challenge you to participate in these activities. I will also be participating in these activities and many of you will witness my hidden talents on the field.
With those few words I would like to express my deep gratitude to the organisers of this event and all those committed to improving the lives of older persons in our country.
As we celebrate today, in great honour and gratitude to our senior citizens, let us renew our commitment to build a caring society one which is fit for the older persons to live and value their contribution.
I thank you.
Enquiries:
Phindulo Raphulu
Tel: 012 312 7381
Cell: 078 601 3914
Issued by: Department of Social Development
18 September 2009
