JOBURG SOUTH: One may wonder if that it’s still so in the present day. Elders are supposed to be the most treasured members of the society, but media reports and stories in the communities often tells a different story. These vulnerable beings are being targeted by those that commit heinous crimes, they prey on the defenceless.

Elders are now subjected to horrific crimes, sometimes committed by those that they have nurtured. Grandchildren continue to abuse their grandparents emotionally, financially and sometimes even physically. Not so long ago two young men from Orlando East in Soweto have been terrorizing their grandmothers.

These young fellows had the nerve to force their grannies out of their homes, with nowhere to go these elderly women were forced to seek refuge under a bridge not far from their homes. A question still stands: what is society doing to avoid such incidents, do we just fold our arms and simply say ‘it’s none of my business’? As the Older Persons Week draws to a close, let’s join hands as communities,

Government and civil society to fight such moral decay in our society.

To address this plague that has befallen our senior citizens, the Gauteng Department of Community Safety is in the process of rolling Elderly Desks across all regions in the Province. These desks are community based structures to aid senior citizens in distress.
They also serve as a platform for them to discuss issues that affect them. It is through them that senior citizens will begin to open up on issues they face behind closed doors, to share their frustrations and concerns with their peer group and also encourage them to open cases about any type of abuse they encounter.

A case in point is the story of two young men who chased their grannies; that was exposed through the intervention of the Gauteng Department of Community Safety, the two were brought to book and are now facing criminal charges. The desks assist the elderly.

Busi Kheswa
Gauteng Department of Community Safety