The 68-page report, “‘This Government is Failing Me Too’: South Africa Compounds Legacy of Apartheid for Older People,” details the government’s failure to effectively carry out the Older Persons Act, a post-apartheid law that guarantees the rights of older people and provides for community- and home-based care and support services. These services would enable older people to continue to live in their own homes with the support they are entitled to.
People over 60 make up 9% of South Africa’s population, or five million people. Yet their needs are almost always overlooked in media reports about service delivery and quality of life. Tshabalira Lebakeng asked people from Soweto what they thought. In a terrible indictment, many felt they had.