Z Skweyiya: Grandparents Day and launch of Social Development
Month

1 October 2006

The MEC for Social Development in Gauteng, Mr Lekgoro,
Chairperson of the Katlehong Old Age Home,
Our distinguished guests,
The older persons,
Ladies and gentlemen,

It is always a wonderful occasion to be amongst older persons of our
country, to be surrounded by so much wisdom, experience and expertise.
Grandparents' Day and the International Day of Older Persons provide us with an
opportunity to celebrate the contributions and role of our older persons in our
lives, both in private and public spheres.

As grandparents and older persons you are the foundation of our heritage,
you are the rock that keeps our families and communities together. We therefore
should actually be spending every day of the year in our homes showering older
persons with love, care and support. We should each day demonstrate our
appreciation of the contributions of the older generation in the struggle to
produce the democracy and wonderful lives we now enjoy.

As government, we have noted that there is a tendency to view older persons
as a burden on society. They are often described in terms of cost factors or as
requiring more and more help and support, which is incorrect. In the workplace,
ageing is viewed as expiration, and the positive attributes of wisdom,
experience and institutional memory are ignored.

As government, we are promoting a new progressive way of looking at ageing,
through legislation such as the Older Persons Bill which was passed by
Parliament in March this year, and other programmes.

Government seeks to portray ageing correctly as an achievement and as a
normal phase of life. The elderly have a right to a healthy productive life, to
live in a caring environment and to be treated with respect and dignity.

The Older Persons Bill is intended to ensure that the rights, dignity and
independence of older persons are upheld. It further provides a framework aimed
at the empowerment and protection of the elderly, and the promotion and
maintenance of their socio-economic status.

We have good reasons to view ageing in a positive light, given the
constructive role played by the elderly in our communities. They feature
prominently in most community development projects and community life. In
addition, the HIV and AIDS epidemic, poverty and unemployment have caused many
households to rely on the pensions of older family members.

Grandparents in many families have become primary caregivers for their
grandchildren whose parents have succumbed to AIDS, during a period when they
should be the ones being cared for. Our elderly deserve love, care and support
regardless of their socio-economic status. This requires a change of attitude.
In the case of retirement, every effort should be made to promote a smooth and
gradual transition.

Retirement does not stop one from being creative and from actively
contributing to society, while also enjoying a much-deserved rest. We are today
launching Social Development Month, and will in October highlight various
programmes and services to older persons in all provinces.

We are also sending a message that the elderly must be protected from
physical, sexual, emotional abuse and neglect. The department will soon keep a
register of persons convicted of abuse or any crime pertaining to older
persons, in order to curb the scourge. This requirement, contained in the new
Older Persons Bill, will ensure that any person whose name appears in the
register is prohibited from operating a residential facility, employment at any
residential facility or from providing any community-based care and support
service to older persons.

We are also keeping an eye on financial abuse. We are aware that many
pensioners rely on loans to survive between pension payout days and they are
often harassed at pay points by micro-loan sharks.

Most of the loan sharks are not registered with the National Credit
Regulator (previously the Micro Finance Regulatory Council), which recently
introduced new legislation and rules requiring standard written agreements,
including information on interest rates being charged. Their non-registration
is punishable by law.

Some micro-loan companies are even accessing direct deductions from
pensions. In addition to small loans, other service providers are offering
food-parcels, funeral policies and other products, the cost of which is
deducted from the pension. High interest rates are charged in spite of it being
a very secure loan.

The Department of Social Development has introduced measures in the new
Social Assistance Act, 2004 to address these bad practices and advocates the
protection of vulnerable older persons by various methods. These include the
following:

* Deductions from the old age grants of premiums for funeral cover policies
should be subject to the discretion of the Minister of Social
Development.
* The department collaborates with the National Credit Regulator to stop the
abuse by micro-lenders and have on a number of occasions effected arrests in
the Free State, and the Eastern Cape.
* Work is ongoing and more prosecutions will take place as the department has
also asked the Special Investigation Unit to assist in stopping the abuse of
the poor.
* Companies offering loans and funeral insurance policies should be regulated
and monitored in terms of uniform norms and standards. They should be required
to provide transparent and jargon-free consumer education about their products
and services that enable older persons to make informed decisions.
* The practice of micro-loan companies being allowed to confiscate the identity
documents of pensioners once they have received their grants is illegal.

Our older persons should be able to live in dignity and security and be
treated with respect, regardless of age, gender, race, background, disability
or other status. The country owes you that much given your past and continued
contribution to the growth and development of our communities.

Happy Grandparents Day to you all!

I thank you. All the best.

Enquiries:
Lakela Kaunda
Cell: 082 782 2575

Issued by: Department of Social Development
1 October 2006
Source: SAPA