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{
    "id": 584945,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/584945/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 297,
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    "content": "we might not appreciate the very serious challenges that the elderly people face, but I am sure we are mature and old enough. We come from societies where we see old people today suffering with no assistance. We do know that even in this House, we are aging and, probably, we may end up in the same or even more difficult scenario. This is because the society where we come from is making the world a small place. It is possible that even those of us who think that our children will take care of us might not have that opportunity because they will seek greener pastures all over the world. They probably will not be physically around to take care of their parents. This Bill seeks to find a way in which the resources of those children, who will be physically away from their aging parents, will be able to assist such parents; ways in which such resources can be made available for use by their aging parents. Therefore, this legislation will provide a way in which the resources provided by the younger generation to the older generation can be used to assist the parents. This is a very important Bill that will bring awareness on the needs of the older generation within our societies and enable them to live a decent life. We do know that the elderly have a lot of useful information. They can be provided with a comfortable place where they can write their memoirs which will contain consultant opinion on how to do things or their vast experience. I am sure that, that information would be very useful for the coming generation. That is why it is important to provide an environment for the elderly to live and be useful in the society. That is why I consider this Bill important. I want to ask the Senators to look through and support it, so that we can take care of the elderly now and also consider those who will age in time to come. We should prepare the ground for ourselves as we age. This is the reason why this Bill is very important for me. I ask Senators to look at this Bill and support it, so that we can start to provide for elderly people in this country. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, elderly people who are aged 65 years and above in this country form a very significant proportion of between 5 to 7 per cent of the population. That runs close to five million elderly people. This is a significant part of our population which we must not ignore. They have no other ways of taking care of themselves because they are unable to but more particularly, they already provided for us when they were young and active. Therefore, in return, we must rearrange our legislation and order of living with them so that we can support them at this time and in future. I ask Senators to support this Bill and because it is a critical one, I will be looking at it and listening to any amendments that might be suggested and consider them. I also ask as many Senators as possible to contribute to this Bill as we listen to what more information can be provided, that might assist the elderly people in our society. I beg to move and request Sen. Karaba to second this Bill."
}