Older persons policy not costed
Community Affairs Minister Osbourne Bodden and Deborah Webb-Sibblies, Chair of the National Older Person’s Policy Steering Committee
(CNS): Community Affairs Minister Osbourne Bodden revealed his much-anticipated older person’s policy Monday, but confirmed that officials have no idea yet how much it will cost to implement and achieve the ambitious goals of meeting the diverse needs of Cayman’s aging population. The Cayman Islands Older Persons Policy 2016-2035 speaks in broad terms about protecting and providing for the elderly in every aspect of life, but at a press conference yesterday, Bodden said that how all of the services would be delivered is still to be worked out. He stressed that Cayman needed the policy “very badly” because of the insecure position many older people found themselves in.
The policy’s key vision, according to the document, is to value, respect and empower older people. It aims to ensure they get access to safe and secure housing and that basic needs are met, such as access to food and water, protection from emotional, financial and physical abuse, access to healthcare, leisure and education opportunities.
But this appears to be just a first step, as officials will now begin shaping the legislation and necessary public institutions to support it. They will also begin collecting data to address the gaps in public service provision and work out what it will cost to allow the growing number of older people to live with dignity. Bodden said that the task force that has been created to help implement the policy will examine the future budgets that will be needed to support the older members of the community.
During the press briefing, officials that were involved in the policy spoke about the abuse that some elderly members of the community suffer. However, Deborah Webb-Sibblies, Chair of the National Older Person’s Policy Steering Committee, revealed there was no formal data to indicate the levels of abuse endured by pensioners. No one knows how many victims there are and what type of abuse they are suffering.
Pointing to anecdotal evidence, she said that one of the major problems appears to be financial abuse at the hands of their own family members who are taking the benefits or pensions that the elderly members receive from government. But she warned that older members of the community are subject to physical abuse and neglect as well.
With no specific legislation that deals with the rights of those aged 65 and over, government is hoping to fill the gap with a law that will protect them in a similar way to the Child Protection Law, introducing things such as mandatory reporting of abuse and making it easier for the police to investigate abuse that may be happening behind closed doors in family homes.
Sibblies said anything that can happen to a child can also happen to older vulnerable members of the community.
See the full policy document in the CNS Library
Category: Local News, Policy, Politics
We should lay blame where it is due. Yes, Ozzie proceeded to advertise this incomplete policy, so he should be blamed for that. But I know Ozzie didnt write this policy.
Now, I have the following questions:
1. Who are the ppl on this Committee?
2. How long were they working on this policy?
3. How is there “no formal data” to justify the need of the policy or the work of the Committee?
4. As it is incomplete, how much more of our money will it take and when will it be completed?
There seems to be a whole lot more blame to be shared in this fiasco.
Civil Servants and the Dep. Gov. also need to be held accountable in this.
You’re new to these parts, I take it? .
I think that part of the electorate do get the representative they deserve. It is the rest of the nation that has grounds for complaint.
Oz, really, cant you pull back look at what you are doing and see how stupid this is? we deserve more if you don’t think so… go play with jet skis.
Wote buying by a visionless non performing minister. The people deserve much better then you Ossize.
Ah boy, Ossie strikes again. Impotent, perhaps he needs to spend more time on island instead of galavanting to Miami every weekend???!!!
Just in case anyone is in doubt, the recent changes to the Pension Law are designed to delay the inevitable truth that this whole thing was a big Ponzi scheme. There is no money left. It has all gone. If you think you will be getting a pension, think again.
How can a country ever hope to move forward, with such sell-out, self-serving, useless people at the helm?
Vote for the Minister of Racial Hatred and never ending large but unfunded pensions! A winner every time!! But just remember voters, when Mummy asks how this all fits within the FFR that she has imposed, it won’t. And therefore won’t happen.
Only an incompetent minister would develop a policy without any data to support it.
Now that’s progressive!!!
The big challenge for older persons is access to healthcare. CINICO offers them the Standard health insurance contract, charging them $300.00 per month in premium and they cannot even get a proper annual checkup leave alone enough to maintain good health.
Just Another Day in Absurdistan
What a useless joke of a man, he does nothing for 4 years and then just as an election is approaching he comes up with half a policy that he hasn’t even worked out how to deliver or how much it will cost!!
This is a shining example of how this old-Aged set of politicians have their focus still set on their (now old) peers. Where is the support and benefits for the suffering generation of youths without any jobs, education, or entrepreneurship assistance?
It’s bad enough that the pension funds will all be drained long before the time the youth reach 65. These youth will work their lives away to support the old, aged Caymanians that sold them out.
Great job on your strategy of electioneering to the old set Oz. You know you’ll be long gone before the reproductions of the ill-support and miss-treatment of the youth takes fruit. But know, it will be your descendants living in the wild country your set created. May God be with your blood-line they will feel it the worst.
The man has blood coursing through his veins. There was I thinking it was greed, hatred and ignorance.
You’re new to these parts, I take it?
Why don’t they wait until they have a complete package to report rather than this vague announcement.
It’s called wote buying in the run up to 2017 elections and POLITRICKS!
The minister of cow cod sounds desperate and confirms again that he is clueless
Even for Absurdistan and Ossie this is beyond absurd. It sounds like wote buying at its very worst. “Never mind the costs, get me the votes”
Typical ppm
You mean: Typical politician.
I am not Caymanian but I understand the abuse suffered when some one other than yourself is taking/keeping your pension money and using it for their own benefit while keeping you from having it. Hmmm. I think I now know where they learned it from.