The elderly have faulted government for the delay in rolling out a monthly allowance initiative meant for those who are not on pension.

The concern came out in a meeting that Malawi Network of Older Persons’ Organisations (Manepo) held in Lilongwe on Friday for stakeholders and representatives of the elderly.

The elderly need to be taken care of

Government was supposed to roll out the programme in June 2022, but the Ministry of Gender, Community Welfare and Development failed to secure K9.2 billion start-up funds.

Older persons’ representative Easter Siyasiya, who is also Manepo secretary for the Central Region, said the monthly allowances were their only hope of an income.

She said: “Government will always argue that senior citizens are covered in programmes such as the social cash transfer, but very few people benefit from that. So, this monthly allowances programme was desirable.”

Siyasiya further said some of the abuses the elderly face in their homes and communities are a way of getting rid of them  because those taking care of them become tired gradually.

Manepo programmes manager Goodwell Thunga presented findings of a community scorecard they conducted on the status of the 2016 National Older Persons Policy.

The policy proposes food security, proper healthcare and economic empowerment through predictable income among older persons and poverty reduction strategies that comprehensively address their needs.

Thunga said despite having the policy, government is yet to implement specific programmes to address the needs and challenges of the elderly.

“There are two steps to consider; the first is to increase community sensitisation on the policy itself and design programmes that will lead to the realisation of policy targets,” he said.

The study identified challenges such as little community sensitisation about the policy, lack of community elderly protection committees and different forms of maltreatment.

Manepo, an umbrella body of over 60 civil society organisations implementing programmes to promote and protect the rights of older people, has been collaborating with the Ministry of Gender to rollout the scheme which is in the Public Sector Reforms.

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