Pressure groups caring for the aged have labelled the Older Persons Bill a "pretty pathetic" piece of legislation, saying it only benefits those wealthy enough to stay in old-age homes.
A redrafted Bill was presented to parliament's select committee on social services this week. The redrafted Bill does away with nine provincial ombudsmen - a provision contained in the first draft of the legislation.
The ombudsmen would have been allowed to initiate investigations and to follow up complaints. They would also have been given powers to summon witnesses and resolve disputes.
Mary Turok of Age in Action said that the provision was removed at the request of the treasury because it would have cost the State too much money. "Now if someone suspects abuse, they have to report it to the director-general or to social workers who are over-burdened as it is. It's a pretty pathetic little Bill which is why we have been making such a fuss about it," she said.
Employing ombudsmen for the elderly was a recommendation of a commission of inquiry into elder abuse which was appointed after widespread exploitation was exposed in a TV documentary in 2000.
The new Bill provides stricter controls for registered old-age facilities and makes abuse of the elderly a criminal offence. It also specifies that a register of people convicted of abusing the elderly be set up by Social Development Minister Zola Skweyiya and bars anyone whose name appears on the register from owning or managing an old age facility.
It further makes allowances for the minister to set up social and cultural programmes for the elderly and for him to look into creating employment opportunities for them.
Pat Lindgren from Action on Elder Abuse said that because the social programmes described in the Bill were discretionary, it was unlikely that any projects would be initiated and funded by the State. She said the Bill did little to improve the lives of old people living on their own. "It centres on protecting government money which is spent in facilities," she said.
The Bill defines older persons as men over the age of 65 and women older than 60 - which, Lindgren adds, leaves out a host of people also in need of frail-care but considered too young.
"Does this mean that government subsidies will not be paid for frail people who are younger than 60?"
"How can you decide who's frail?" she asked.
Nomathemba Kela, the chief director of welfare services transformation in the department, said she hoped the Bill would be signed into law before the end of the year. - Political Bureau