15 May 2014

Elderly people aged over 65, who live alone, will soon receive radio sets that government promised last year.

Close to 10 000 radio sets have so far been bought at a total of P1.7 million whose aim in the words of Minister Peter Siele would be to “facilitate access to information by elderly persons who live on their own."

The Minister of Local Government and Rural Development also said the omega sets were meant to better the quality of life of the elderly so that they could stay informed. Mr Siele said the move was in line with one of the recommendations for action of the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing of 2002.

The target of the recommendation was to provide information and access to facilitate the participation of older persons in mutual self-help, intergenerational community groups and opportunities for realising their full potential.

Mr Siele said the gesture was yet another indication that government was committed to serving and caring for its citizenry, especially vulnerable members of the community such as elderly people.

He also said as the country approached its national vision, it had become imperative for government and Batswana to pull together towards achieving Vision 2016 ideals and targets.

Furthermore, Mr Siele noted that government had put in place comprehensive social protection policies and programmes that sought to protect people from risk and vulnerability.

"These strive to protect, prevent, promote and transform the lives of Batswana, especially vulnerable groups which include elderly people who are 65 years and above,” said the minister.

He also said government had a primary responsibility of promoting, providing and ensuring access to basic social services, bearing in mind specific needs of older persons, as per Article 13 of the Political Declaration made by UN member states who attended the second UN Assembly on Ageing of 2002 in Madrid, Spain.

Some of the initiatives government had put in place for the elderly included the annual commemoration of the International Day of the Elderly where the public was educated on the rights of the elderly and hear the voice of the elderly themselves on their life experiences.

Government had also taken a decision to give free health care to the elderly in government health centres and that all service providers must have a dedicated help-desk for the elderly so that they do not queue for a long time. ENDS