Programme director
Dignitaries of the diplomatic corps
Honourable Mayor
Religious and community leaders
Ladies and gentlemenGood morning. Sanibonani. Dumelang bagolo. Le kae?
Today is undoubtedly, an important day in our endeavours to build a caring society. I am certainly delighted to be part of this occasion, because issues of older persons are very close to my heart. It is always a wonderful occasion to be amongst older persons of our country, to be surrounded by so much wisdom, experience and expertise.
Ladies and gentlemen, you will agree with me that a true measure of a caring society is how best it values and protects its senior citizens. Through the opening of Phumula Old Age Home we aim to promote and celebrate the contributions older people make in our society.
We all know too well that the older persons in this country have made and continue to make an invaluable contribution to all aspects of South African life. I am glad to note that this centre will be used not only to care for older persons, but for other community development initiatives which will promote the integration of older persons with the local community.
I hope that this centre will be used to promote active and healthy aging by engaging older persons in sporting activities. I therefore hope to see older persons from this centre participating in the forthcoming Golden Games in October this year.
Ladies and gentlemen
A prerequisite for the active involvement of older persons in building a caring society is recognition that older persons are an integral part of society. Population trends show an increasing number of older persons worldwide. It is estimated that by 2040 the population of older persons will double to become 14% of the total world population.
South Africa has the highest percentage of older persons (7,3%) as compared to the rest of 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 the provinces of KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape, where the proportions are (11,9%) and (18,0%), respectively. Coincidentally, these provinces are predominantly rural and characterised by high levels of poverty. As is the case worldwide, women (with an estimated 61,6%) represent the largest number and proportion of older people in South Africa.
This calls for a concerted effort from all sectors of society in comprehensively addressing the needs of older persons. Today, as we join the people of Bronkhorspruit in celebrating the official opening of this centre, we recall the fact that too many older persons in our continue to live in poverty, face negative perceptions about ageing, continue to be victimised by merciless criminal elements and worst of all, exploitation and abuse, sometimes by their very own family members.
As a country, we can never boast to be free whilst senior citizens of our country who brought this freedom, continue to suffer and do not enjoy all of the rights enshrined in our Constitution. I believe that one of the biggest problems with our society today is the lack of respect people show for each other and especially for our elders.
The reality in most of our communities is that older persons continue to bear the 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. I hope that Phumula will not be one of those Old Age Homes that make news headlines for all the wrong reasons
Government has taken decisive actions to deal effectively with challenges facing older people in this country. I am proud to be a member of government that cares for its senior citizens. We acknowledge today that despite its short life, democratic South Africa has achieved significant milestones towards improving the status of older persons. 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 on the basis of age.
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.
Government has introduced new measures to combat adult and older person’s poverty. To this end, we have introduced the new Social Assistance Amendment Act No. 6 of 2008 which allows men aged 63 to 64 to receive social grants. 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. Ladies and gentlemen, these measures are part of the broader campaign to tackle adult and older person's poverty. With all this measures in place, no older person in our country should go to bed hungry.
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 able age. This state of affairs is variance with the promise of creating social justice and a fairer society. As government it is our responsibility to ensure that South Africans from all walks of life have the resources necessary to achieve a secure retirement. This we believe is the first step toward rectifying the current policy gaps with regard to retirement and expanding the social security system to include people who would otherwise have little, if any, income support for themselves and their dependents
Ladies and gentlemen
Our determination to create a comprehensive, inclusive retirement dispensation forces us to drastically overhaul and reform the current dispensation to ensure that a majority of South Africa's poor, marginalised and vulnerable also benefit from the new retirement provisions. 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 as well as with international trends. Most importantly, these reforms express our nation’s cohesion and values.
The retirement reform proposals are informed by, and resonate with government’s commitment to the creation of a comprehensive social security system for South Africa that is anchored on three pillars, namely, a non-contributory system of social assistance that provides a safety net for the most vulnerable; a mandatory contributory system of social insurance covering all income earners and; a voluntary scheme which gives all the liberty to purchase additional cover
We have made significant progress with regards to implementation of the first pillar of our comprehensive social security framework. To date we provide direct social assistance transfers to over 13 million South Africans. Of these number over 2,5 million is older people who 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.
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. The family, the community, and the public sector should play complementary roles in providing a continuum of care to older persons. I am pleased to note that the members of the diplomatic corps have heeded this call and have made generous contributions to this centre.
On behalf of government and the South African people, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to you all for your continued support. Let me also express my deep gratitude to all people who contribute to the improvement of the lives of older persons in our country. It is my firm belief that working together, we can ensure that older persons have better, enriching and fulfilling lives.
My message to all our senior citizens is that we care and love you all. Thank you for your contribution towards building this country, educating the younger generations and sharing your skills and expertise with us.
On that note I would like to declare the Phumula Old Age Home officially open.
I thank you.
