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{
    "id": 584988,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/584988/?format=api",
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    "content": "beyond legislation and ask ourselves whether our financial institutions are discriminating people on the basis of age. If you go for a mortgage, they will ask you about your age and you will be dismissed by virtue of age. We can price products in the financial market but we should not make it look like it is a crime to be an old person. This happens when they go to apply for a loan, insurance or medical cover. In private insurance companies, you will find that when you are above a certain age, probably 65 or 70 years, you are not eligible to get medical insurance cover. Old age should not be treated as a crime. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, there are parts of this country where old persons are accused of being witches. We need to shame some of these retrogressive practices and talk about them as a Senate and as a leadership. A person does not become a witch simply because he or she is old. Assuming that the world and realm of witches exist, anyone can be in it. We should not victimize or assault old persons and accuse them of witch-craft because that will be infringing on their rights. One final thing that I want to say is that we must also advocate and promote a saving culture in this country. If you look at the pay slip or the amount of money we are paying our teachers, doctors and certain cadres in the public service, it is very difficult to make a saving. Therefore, we must take urgent legislative, policy or practical measures to encourage people in this country to save because it is that saving that will pad our lifestyle in future. This Bill will not take care of all the problems that older persons face. It is a starting point. The cash transfer programme is not the ultimate solution to the problems that older persons face. We must also make that conscious decision. I am glad that this country will soon be launching a mobile Treasury Bill which will allow young people to start investing in Government securities. It must go beyond that, we must promote and encourage a saving culture in this country so that we do not end up with a welfare state where everyone just goes about consuming everything they get because they know that in future the Government will take care of them. We should promote, entrench the saving culture and take care of the savings that we make through bodies like the National Social Security Fund (NSSF). We have NSSF that sits on a large amount of money, saving the future of this nation. I support the Bill."
}