Maravi

Looking after the old

Looking after the old
By Editor
Monday October 01, 2007 [04:00]

As the world today observes the International Day of Older Persons, there is need for Zambia to reflect deeply on how we are looking after the aged as a country. The old people, everywhere in the world, are like the journey of a snail and its house. This is because wherever a man who is wise travels, he takes his wisdom with him, like a snail that travels with its house. This is especially true because old people, whether educated or not, have a lot of accumulated experience and wisdom to share.

Sadly, in most cases, the world in general and Zambia in particular does not seem to be benefiting from its old people. They are under-utilised. And with the ever-increasing poverty situation in the country, we are seeing more and more old people being abandoned even by their own families.

Like United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon has rightly observed, population ageing brings significant economic and social challenges for developed and developing countries alike. But this problem is more pronounced in Third World countries where social security, especially for the aged, does not exist or is not prioritised where it exists.

Available statistics from the UN show that some 80 per cent of the world's population are not covered by social protection in old age.

Without doubt, there is every need for governments, particularly those of developing countries, to find ways to provide economic support for the growing number of older persons through sustainable pension programmes and new social protection measures. Yes, like Ban observed, this is a daunting task but with commitment things can be done.

Where social security for the aged exists, our old people can still be relevant even in terms of economic development. Today, more and more old people are being thrown into destitution because they are not paid their pensions or retirement packages in time.

Some ‘starve’ to death without receiving their dues. Many others are left to bask in both suns. They just sit in the morning and afternoon sun in order to keep warm because they have nothing to occupy their minds.

Those who are abandoned by their families for various reasons go through similar experiences in homes for old people which are not even many. Although it is the government’s responsibility to look after these old folks in these Old People’s Homes, most of the time they survive or are sustained by donations from various people and institutions.

But this is not the case in countries where social security for the aged is taken seriously. We remember that when Lusaka businessman Majid Ticklay was deported to the United Kingdom by the Chiluba government, he was looked after by the Social Welfare Department in Britain.

Probably, Ticklay was looked after by the Social Welfare Department even better than most working-class people in Zambia look after themselves. And Ticklay did not just sit idly during the time he was there. He participated in other programmes both for his personal wellbeing and that of the country he lived in.

We are not saying that Zambia should replicate the United Kingdom’s social security system. What we are saying is that there is need for us to find ways and means of looking after our old men and women in society in a manner that suits our circumstances and resources. We are aware that in some of the SADC countries, old people are entitled to allowances for sustenance as soon as they reach a certain age, whether or not they worked in their younger years.

Where there is prudent planning of the national budget, this is very achievable. But because we have not prioritised issues to do with our old people, there are always excuses from those who manage our national treasury as to why we cannot provide for these old folks; they even find answers for their inordinate delays in making payments to pensioners and retirees.

But we forget that old people anywhere in the world are like a mother who feeds her son before he has teeth so that he could feed her when she has lost hers.

Our old people are now just like orphans whose tears run inside them. They detect social injustice but are powerless to do anything about it. Initially, they cry like orphans neglected by extended family members and their tears are seen on their cheeks. But with time their tears run inside and are not seen. What is seen is their misery, which often prematurely drives them to the grave.

It is true that death may strike anyone at any moment, that no one escapes death. But it is also true that poverty transforms a free man into a slave. When a man, an old man especially, becomes penniless, he does not have the freedom and options that he had when he had money and his own life.

That is why there is every need for the government, through the Ministry of Community Development, to come up with policies that will support lives of our old people or re-define those in existence to meet the challenges of the day.

Above all, poverty alleviation programmes must be supported at all costs, knowing that the root cause of this problem lies in poverty. If poverty levels were not as alarming as they are today, most families would afford to look after their old people because that is their primary responsibility. Now, we see more and more families abandoning not only their old people but also members of their extended families.

Like Ban said, let us use today as we observe the Old People’s Day to focus our attention on the challenges and opportunities of ageing. Older persons now have many more opportunities to keep contributing to society beyond any set retirement age.

We should change our perception older people. Instead of seeing older people as a burden on society, let us recognise that they are an asset that can and should be treasured and utilised.

Older people can also participate in the economic and social development of any country.

Labels: PENSIONERS

posted by MrK @ 9:15 AM