Residents of Norda Park retirement village in Pretoria North are celebrating a long-awaited turnaround after years of neglect, following a sustained effort by the ward councillor to secure maintenance and repairs from the Tshwane Metro Housing Department.

The improvements come after the ward councillor described a two-year battle to have the municipality address serious maintenance issues at the facility, which houses elderly residents, many of whom are over the age of 80.

According to Ward 2 councillor Quentin Meyer, one of the biggest obstacles in getting the necessary work approved was funding.

“The biggest challenge was always the funds. Last year, we were told we had to wait for the new financial year before the work could be done, and now at least it is happening,” he said.

Meyer explained that while concerns had also been raised about the maintenance of gardens and outdoor spaces, the most pressing issues involved the condition of the buildings themselves.

Before the upgrades, residents had to contend with a range of problems that significantly affected their quality of life.

“Painting was a very big issue. The roof was a very big issue. There were water leaks, plumbing issues and dampness,” said Meyer.

He stressed that expecting elderly residents to cope with such problems on their own was unreasonable.

“These are old people. There are residents here who are over 80 and even 90 years old. How can an elderly person be expected to deal with roof leaks and major maintenance issues? It is just impossible.”

The current maintenance project includes repainting buildings, repairing roofing, addressing plumbing defects and tackling damp-related problems throughout the facility.

“For now, they are going to do the painting, the roofing, work inside the buildings, the plumbing and the dampness. It is basically the maintenance of the building,” explained Meyer.

He believes the municipality should adopt a more proactive maintenance approach to prevent facilities from deteriorating to such an extent in future.

“The people are paying rent here, and it is the responsibility of the municipality to maintain the buildings. If maintenance is done at least once a year, the work needed later will be much less.”

Resident Pearl Brits said maintenance problems had affected the facility for several years and praised Meyer for consistently following up with the municipality on behalf of residents.

“Quentin has been fighting for us for about three years already. He kept sending messages and following up every month to get things moving,” she said.

Brits described the atmosphere among residents when they learned that the municipality had finally agreed to carry out the work.

“We were really, really, really happy. When they told us they had agreed to come and paint and fix the place up, we were all so glad. We all just said, thank you very much.”

Although residents are pleased with the progress made so far, Brits said there are still areas that require attention.

“There are still things like the windows and other parts that need improvement,” she said, adding that ongoing maintenance will be important to keep the facility in good condition.

The upgrades at Norda Park have brought renewed optimism to residents who have spent years living with deteriorating infrastructure and unresolved maintenance concerns.

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