Premier must retract his
irresponsible citizenship remarks
By BRIAN KAJENGO
Mpumalanga premier David Mabuza must
immediately retract his irresponsible remarks that pensioners should marry
South African citizens in order to receive social benefits.
According to reports the premier
addressed a large gathering of senior citizens in Mbombela on Tuesday, and
reportedly said that it’s problematic for old people without ID books to
receive social grants, and that they may be from Mozambique
or Swaziland.
The premier reportedly added: “…to
solve that [problem] get married, but not by force. If you are a man get
married to a South African woman; of you are a woman you must do so to a South
African man. By that you can qualify for an ID book.”
The premier’s remarks are
completely out of touch with the problems that beset South Africans every day.
By simply assuming that people without ID books are foreigners is not only
insensitive, but also disregards the financial burden on public resources which
funds our country’s social grant system.
A DA government would have taken the proper steps
to identify those individuals without IDs, establish the reasons behind their
not having these critically important documents, and given them the necessary
assistance so that they too can qualify for social security grants.
No comments:
Post a Comment