S Moloto: International Day of Older Persons

1 October 2006

Programme director
MEC of Health and Social Development
Executive Mayor of Mopani District Municipality
Mayor of Giyani Municipality
Our grandmothers and grandfathers
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen

Theme: Honouring our senior citizens

Avuxeni!

October is Social development month in South Africa. The 1st of October, in
particular, has been designated world-wide as the International Day for Older
Persons. The International Day of Older Persons gives us an ideal opportunity
to reflect on the well being of the elderly who are after all our fathers,
mothers, grandmothers and grandfathers. What makes this occasion even special
is the fact that Limpopo is the fourth province in the country with a higher
proportion of older persons.

South Africa as part of the international community has committed itself to
observe this day in honour of the contribution made by our senior citizens in
the struggle for freedom and democracy in our country. In our attempt to give
meaning to this year's theme, like in all other years, special focus will be
dedicated to the building of a value system that upholds and cherishes the
rights of the elderly as members of the community.

A series of comprehensive activities would also be rolled out as part of
highlighting the many achievements of older persons including their plight and
living conditions as senior citizens of our country. This will range from
development projects which the elderly are involved in, including the many
unrecognised contributions which the elderly people make in raising and
educating their grandchildren. In this regard, we all know the burden which our
grandmothers normally carry in taking care of orphans left by parents who have
died of HIV and AIDS. For this we must salute and honour them for their
selfless service to our nation.

Like in all other previous years, the crown for this year's highlights will
be the Centenarian celebrations for our golden oldies that have hundred years
and above. We will also showcase and recognise other contributions which our
veterans have made in the diverse fields of education, culture, politics and
business in the province and country as a whole. In this regard, we also need
to appreciate and acknowledge the role that our elderly people continue to play
in protecting our democracy.

During election time for instance, we all know that, the elderly are the
ones who register in large numbers for voting and are normally the first ones
to arrive at the polling stations in order to cast their votes. Their passion
for stability and good governance has no doubt contributed in ensuring that our
democracy continues to flourish up to this day.

Programme director,

We have come a long way since 1994 when we introduced a democratic
Constitution and a Bill of Rights with its expressed aim of promoting equality
and freedom for all our people, including our senior citizens. As a result of
the human rights culture we have built, the Constitution we have adopted, the
Bill of Rights and its attendant legislative mechanisms, today there are fewer
areas in our national life where discrimination and social exclusions are
prevalent or tolerated. South Africans of all races and cultures are incredibly
beginning to embrace the spirit of caring and the culture of human rights,
which advocates for human dignity including that of the elderly. However, it is
regrettable that despite this positive rise in awareness, it still appears as
though some within our community are still hell-bent on treating our elderly
people with contempt.

As we celebrate this International Day of the Older Persons, government
continues to be disturbed by shocking news and revelations of continuous abuse
of older persons in pension queues, government offices, hospitals and old age
homes across our province. We have come to terms with the fact that our elderly
are the most vulnerable group in society and continue to face mental and
physical abuse within their own homes; within their communities; in residential
care and at many government service points.

As we have already said, social development month requires us to raise
awareness about the significance of those most vulnerable in our society. Apart
from women, children and the disabled, it cannot be denied that the elderly
occupies a considerable part of those who need our support and understanding as
a nation. Therefore, today's event should compel us to feel challenged and
obliged to ensure that older persons are treated well and looked after with the
necessary dignity and respect that they so much deserve.

As a response to this challenge, our government has established an Office on
the Status of the Elderly in the Presidency, and in the Office of the Premier
so that the needs and aspirations of this section of our population are catered
for.

As part of Social Development Month, we shall also strive to educate older
persons on how to access the old age grant and subsequent norms and standards
for their provision. We also pride ourselves with the fact that huge
institutionalised disparities in social grants for the elderly have since been
wiped out and that the massive backlogs in social services are gradually being
overcome.

In the province we can safely say that we have gone a long way in improving
the accessibility of social grants. This is despite the fact that large parts
of our province are predominantly rural in nature and are widely scattered
settlements, which makes it difficult to access. However, we have succeeded in
ensuring that each month nearly 2 million older persons benefit from social
grants. In fact, older persons represent more than 50% of all social grant
beneficiaries and two thirds of the national social grants budget.

However, we recognise that the current social grants programme does not meet
all the needs of older persons and we have put in place a number of measures to
improve the conditions of this vulnerable sector of our society. These measures
include income generation projects, access to free basic water, and a housing
subsidy scheme and importantly, free primary healthcare.

Other challenges include the integrity of the system, its effectiveness and
efficiency. The indemnity campaign of the national Department of Social
Development has shown that, there were still a large proportion of people in
our province who where still receiving social grants illegally. We have since
uncovered these people and are currently working on improving our integrity
systems. We are still calling on members of the community to help us track
ghost pensioners who are receiving old age grants illegally.

Programme director,

As members of the community, we must equally guard against the financial
exploitation of our elderly people. We know that quite often the elderly are
deprived of their monthly pensions by those closest to them. In most instances
we have found that the elderly are breadwinners in their families. Through this
pension money that they receive, they are able to send their grandchildren to
school, buy groceries and clothes for the family. On the contrary, what has
been happening is that, this well-deserved grant is often taken away from our
elderly, and spent on alcohol and other consumer products by close members of
the family. We urge you to report these cases were you see them happening. It
is our duty as government to ensure that the rights and privileges of our
senior citizens are respected.

We indeed, owe it to our elderly citizens to ensure that they are treated
with the care, the love and the respect that they deserve.

Nevertheless, ladies and gentlemen,

The government on its own cannot meet all these challenges. We are not
always present where a senior citizen is being murdered because he or she is
suspected of being a witch, robbed, assaulted, abused or humiliated. We are not
always there to see the physical evidence of assault that is being hidden by
the abuser, the black eyes, the broken bones and the scars.

Neither can we always assess and determine the depth of the psychological
impact of abuse and the damage that has been done to the personality and mental
health of the victim, the elderly person. We are therefore making an earnest
appeal to everybody present here and the broader society to assist the
government in stamping out these disgusting practices and brings those who are
responsible to book.

Programme director,

Let us as the people of Limpopo commit ourselves to look after the interest
of our elderly with a renewed sense of respect and concern. Let us support them
in their right to have a healthy and productive life, to live in a caring
environment and to be treated with respect they so richly deserve.

We are confident that we can win the battle against abuse and neglect of
older persons if all of us can raise our awareness about their concerns and
increase our vigilance against immoral practices.

I thank you.

Issued by: Office of the Premier, Limpopo Provincial Government
1 October 2006