Grants to elderly supporting entire households.

FILE: Statistician General Pali Lehlola said that while the elderly were doing
 better economically due to the availability of grants, they often
had to support entire households where everyone is unemployed.

JOHANNESBURG - South Africa’s elderly are bearing the brunt of the country’s unemployment problem‚ with more than half of all the country’s old people living in households where everyone is unemployed.

This and other data is contained in a Stats SA survey of South Africans aged 60 and older.

It showed:

•Elderly people live in conditions that are slightly better than in 2011 due to the widespread roll-out of grants‚ with more having access to housing and water;

•About 3.1million people over 60 receive pensions of R1500; and

•The elderly feel less safe walking alone at night‚ with only 31% of people over 60 feeling safe walking at night, which is down from 38% measured in 2011.





Full story at ENCA.