Elderly want exemption from paying electricity bills

ZIMBABWE'S elderly people want to be exempted from paying electricity bills at a time when the tabling of the Old Persons Bill before Parliament is drawing near.

In an interview on the sidelines of a stakeholders consultative meeting in Zvishavane last week, Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare chairperson  Margaret Zinyemba said the elderly were raising such concerns during consultative meetings being conducted around the country by the committee.

Zinyemba who is also Zanu-PF Member of Parliament for Mazowe South constituency said among the provinces whose elderly persons wanted to be exempted from paying electricity were the Midlands and Masvingo provinces.

"We are conducting stakeholders' consultative meetings with elderly people throughout the country. Our aim is to get feedback from the elderly so that we make necessary amendments on the draft of the Old Persons Bill, which will soon be presented before Parliament," she said.

Zinyemba said the Old Persons Bill was also proposing that citizens above the age of 65 should get grants on a monthly basis.

She said elderly people must have access to free medical attention, get food supplements on a monthly basis and be exempt from standing in queues.

"If the Bill comes to pass, old persons above the age of 65 will be getting allowances on a monthly basis. They will also be exempted from standing in queues and will have free access to medication at all Government health institutions. They are expected to receive food supplements as well," she said.

Zinyemba said the committee would look into the contributions by older persons for consideration for inclusion into the Bill.

She said the committee thought of pushing for the bill after realising that there was no law in Zimbabwe that mandated Government to take care of the old.

Zinyemba said it was worrying to note that old people's homes and orphanages were closing down due to lack of financial and moral support.

She said most inmates from such homes were now crowding in the streets as a result of the challenges facing children and old people's homes.

Zinyemba said the homes should get support in the form of monthly grants.

She said the Ministry of Labour and Social Services was also being affected by lack of resources as it was failing to conduct a poverty assessment programme due to lack of funds.

"The Ministry of Labour and Social Services was, however, allocated money by the Ministry of Finance but that money is lying idle because they need to first conduct a poverty assessment exercise so that they could help the underprivileged and the generally vulnerable," said Zinyemba.

She said stakeholders were at the moment getting some reprieve from the Government's grain loan scheme.

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