THE Prime Minister, Mr Kassim Majaliwa, has pledged the government’s commitment to ensure that the legal rights of elderly people in the country are adhered to.
Mr Majaliwa made the statement here over
the weekend when he was speaking to elderly people who paid a courtesy
call on him at his office here yesterday.
He said that the government had started
implementing some of their legal rights, including free medical care,
noting that various hospitals he visited recently have initiated special
units to care for the elderly.
Mr Majaliwa, who expressed his delight
over the move, asked the elderly people to widen their networking to
ensure that they all stand to benefit. He said the network should ensure
they acquire leaders starting from the village level to ensure smooth
collaboration between the government and the elderly network
association.
Deputy Minister for Health, Community
Development, Gender, Elderly persons and children, Dr Hamis Kingwangala,
said that the government has already confirmed the proposals for the
enactment of a law seeking to protect the elderly persons in the
country.
Dr Kingwangala said that the proposals
would be presented in the National Assembly in September. He said the
enactment of the law (elderly law) would help see the rights of the
elderly persons in the country being attended to, including retirement
benefits.
“We in the ministry had formed a task
force consisting elderly persons with the aim of structuring and
deciding on two important issues that would be tackled … one of them is
to ensure better pensions to the elderly people,” he noted, noting that
free medical care was also another matter for legal consideration.
On the other hand, the Chairman of
Elderly Network, Mr Sebastian Bulegi, told the premier that the elderly
are optimistic that the government will oversee rights to free medical
care, education on HIV/AIDS awareness, among other legal rights.
Mr Bulegi said their visit was aimed to
present their appreciation to President Magufuli for forming a special
ministry to oversee the rights of the elderly people in the country
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