‘Elderly grant beneficiaries should form association’

MBABANE – Political Activist Mphandlana Shongwe has encouraged elderly grant beneficiaries to form an association so they could fight for their rights in one voice.

Shongwe (63) who is also a beneficiary, says there is nothing political about him receiving the elderly grant as it was his birth right.

The political activist confirmed that indeed he was receiving his E500 per month elderly grant.

He said he began receiving the grant about three years ago, after he turned 60 years of age. He said he registered for the grant during the tenure of the former Deputy Prime Minister, Themba Masuku.

“Actually the former DPM is the one who encouraged me to register for the grant. He always reminded me to register whenever we spoke,” he said.

Shongwe said there was a need to increase the grant because a majority of the beneficiaries had no pension benefits and only relied on the grant for their personal needs and taking care of their unemployed children and grandchildren.

He said E500 per month was too little and in his case, the grant was only enough to pay for some necessities while other things were left hanging and could not be catered for by the grant.

The political activist said he had been unemployed all his life and did not have a pension, hence the reason he was arguing that the grant was not enough.

Clarifying, Shongwe said grants were a cycle from birth to death and receiving the elderly grant was his right. He said reaching 60 years of age was not a right, but a privilege and receiving the elderly grant was a benefit of reaching 60 years.

“There is nothing political about me receiving the grant, instead, it needs a political will to ensure this privilege is enjoyed,” he said.

He shared his vision, which was for the elderly to come together in one way or the other to form an association of senior citizens of the country. He said looking at how the country was sustained; there was no doubt that it was sustained by the elderly.

“If you go around the country, in the farms you will find the elderly and no youth. Take my project for example, there is no youth here,” he said.

He, however, encouraged the youth to join him in particular agriculture apprentices so they could gain the necessary practical experience and

be able to empower others.

Returning to the issue of the elderly, Shongwe said this was an important issue as the elderly were the ones involved in agriculture and producing food to feed the nation.

He said the challenges faced by the elderly was that once they reached 60 years of age; they were no longer able to get assistance from financial institutions. He clarified that he was not saying government should not provide grants to the youth, but instead, government must invest in the senior citizens who were experienced.

He said in his project, he was being assisted by the elderly who had the practical experience. He encouraged the youth to learn from the elderly so they could be able to sustain themselves and create jobs for others.