Peggy Nkomo

Peggy Nkomo

Older people are the reservoir of knowledge and the glue that holds families and communities together, Minister of Social Development Zola Skweyiya said yesterday.

Addressing people gathered for Grandparents Day at the Apostolic Faith Mission church in Atteridgeville, Pretoria, Skweyiya said the presence and positive influence of grandparents was important today when people witnessed the erosion of the moral fibre of our society.

"Today's generation, spurred on by its obsession with material achievements, views grandparents and older people as an inconvenience. They fail to understand that as our parents get older they rely more on us for love and support.

"There are times and circumstances in which putting them in old age homes or retirement villages seem to be the only viable option, but not always. We should not use this as an excuse to deprive them of love and support."

Skweyiya said South Africa's cultures emphasised the respect for older people.