Members of Parliament have urged central government to expedite the introduction of a special policy intended to ensure the welfare of the elderly. They demanded this on Thursday, June 25, 2020 as the Chamber of Deputies adopted the relevance of draft law approving ratification of additional protocol to African Charter on human and people’s rights on rights of older persons in Africa. The additional protocol was adopted by the 26th Ordinary Session of the General Assembly of the African Union’s Heads of State and Government held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on January 31, 2016. The elderly have been advocating such special policy which can provide tailored support to have a dignified old age. Lawmakers observed that it is necessary to create an environment in which senior citizens are ensured with full dignity, guaranteed to reach their rights to health, secured lives and responsibilities; and ensure that they are socially, culturally, politically and economically integrated. According to the protocol, older persons means those aged sixty (60) years and above, as defined by the United Nations (1982) and the AU Policy Framework and Plan of Action on Ageing (2002). Regarding access to healthcare, the Protocol indicates that States Parties to it shall guarantee the rights of older persons to access health services that meet their specific needs. This includes geriatric care responds to the complex needs of older people, focusing on health promotion and the prevention and treatment of disease and disability. For social protection, the Protocol says that State Parties shall develop policies and legislation that ensure that older persons who retire from their employment are provided with adequate pensions and other forms of social security. Ignatienne Nyirarukundo, the Minister of State in charge of social affairs at the Ministry of Local Government said that for the provisions of the Protocol to be applied, a policy on the protection of older people has been formulated, and is currently still being discussed by entities responsible for the living conditions of the elderly before it comes into force. “The content of the policy responds to issues that the older people face in general, but mainly provides strategies to start saving earlier for old age,” she said. Currently, she said, people who make savings into the pension scheme in Rwanda are about 11 percent of the working population, and they are salaried employees in the formal sector. She added that it is in that context that the government introduced Ejo Heza Long-term Savings Scheme so that it caters for pension benefits for informal sector workers once they retire. MP Pierre-Claver Rwaka said that the establishment and enactment of a policy and law on the protection of older people was overdue. “We should have a well carried out policy on the protection of the elderly’s rights which meets the international protocol requirements,” he said adding that a law should be based on that policy. MP Eugene Mussolini said that the main issue affecting the elderly is lack of savings and access to pension, calling for scaled up efforts to enable them to get retirement benefits. He added that pension benefits given to retired employees should be responding to their needs given that the franc’s purchasing power keeps falling. “Pension should be corresponding to the cost of living so that it benefits the older people,” he said. For MP John Ruku-Rwabyoma, retired people who are still strong should form associations which they can use to utilise their skills instead of being viewed as people are completely out of service. “They should have, say, associations of retired teachers, or retired doctors,” he said pointing out that they can achieve a lot through associations. MP Odette Uwamariya said that the bill on the Protocol is important in terms of taking care of senior citizens of African countries. “Indeed, they (senior citizens) played their role during pre-retirement period, and they should have dignified old age,” she said.
