COMMITTEE ON SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT CONCLUDES PUBLIC HEARINGS ON OLDER PERSONS AMENDMENT BILL IN MPUMALANGA

The Portfolio Committee on Social Development concluded the Mpumalanga leg of the parliamentary public hearings on the Older Persons Amendment Bill.

The committee visited the province’s Ehlanzeni, Gert Sibandeas well as Nkangala district municipalities to solicit citizen’s views as part of a nationwide public consultation process to afford all South Africans an opportunity to express their views on the Older Persons’ Amendment Bill.

In all three districts the draft Bill received overwhelming support from different sectors of society which included representatives from elderly peoples’ forums, owners of old age centres and individuals.

Some of the common concerns that the committee listened to during the public hearings included the shortage of old age homes and the costs of living in these facilities. A suggestion was made that every district must have at least one old age home.

There were also reservations about a clause in the draft Bill which is about means test. The means test is about disqualification of an older person from getting government social grant if a spouse is a former civil servant and receiving civil pension. This was seen as a discrimination against married couples and that it must be changed or removed from the Bill to have every elderly person entitled to social grant irrespective of the financial status of the spouse.

After some complains that some elders had their SASSA cards and IDs kept by loan sharks when the pensioners took loans. The Chairperson of the committee, Ms Nonkosi Mvana, warned about the illegality of this practice but also discouraged the elders from using loan sharks.

“The committee is unhappy with the reports of old people who give their SASSA cards and IDs to loan sharks in order to get loans, we want to discourage this practice. On the issue of the costs of old age home we will engage government to have standardised regulations,” said Ms Mvana.

The Bill seeks to strengthen the protection and prevention of abuse of older people, eliminate harmful traditional practices including witchcraft accusations against older people and recognise the responsibilities of older people in passing inter-generational knowledge and wisdom. The Bill also seeks to make provision for the removal of older people to temporary safe care without a court order.

Source: Parliament of South Africa