[From Editorial] Each of the papers in this number of SAJG deals with dilemmas and issues in the matter of public and private care for older persons in southern Africa. Three papers deal explicitly with South Africa's social-security system·- specifically the old-age pension. Two papers deal with residential care models. And a sixth paper examines informal caregiving. In an expansive overview of public finance and ageing in South Africa, Van der Berg examines budgetary expenditure on the older population and places the magnitude and function of the social-pension system in perspective. The author briefly traces the historical evolution of the system. In a paper based on extensive archival research, Sagner details the history of the pension from 1920 to 1960 and shows that numerous contemporary pension-related issues are no different to issues of past decades. In her paper, Oakley examines the effects of recent changes in social-welfare policy on the residents and administrators of a home for marginalized older people in a remote South African town. She contends that new policy erroneously assumes that marginalized and historically disadvantaged older individuals are able to live self-sufficiently within the bosom of family - in a spirit of ubuntu. Ackermann and Matebesi report on a study of the experiences of carers of older family members in an African township and consider how these carers, who have few resources, could be assisted and supported in their care giving tasks. Mupedziswa describes the nature and functioning of an alternative residential care model in Zimbabwe - a cooperative living scheme specifically established to enable destitute and socially-impoverished older people to co-reside in a safe and mutually-supportive environment. Moller gives readers an insightful update and analysis of the January 1998 pension payment debacle in the Eastern Cape Province, when the payment of more than 600 000 pensioners was delayed because of provincial-government management errors. Finally, SAJG welcomes Wilson's announcement in a letter to the editor of the establishment of AFRIT A, whose aims are to promote and to co-ordinate linkages between training and research initiatives on ageing and policy structures in African countries.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:rhodes/vital:8076 |
| Date | January 1998 |
| Creators | Ferreira, Monica (editor), Moller, Valerie, HSRC/UCT Centre for Gerontology |
| Publisher | HSRC/UCT Centre for Gerontology, University of Cape Town |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 40 pages, pdf |
| Rights | Ferreira, Monica (editor), Moller, Valerie (editor) |
Page generated in 0.0069 seconds