The mismanagement and the deteriorating state of government old age homes are expected to be something of the past after the passing of a motion in Council recently.
Ward 126 councillor David Brand, who sits on the Housing Committee, said he proposed a motion in terms of section 89 (2) of the Standing Rules and Orders of Council to task the Johannesburg Property Company (JPC) to take over the responsibility of maintaining the old age homes across the City as the Housing Department has no mandate to care for the elderly.
“The reason for the motion is that the Department of Housing looks after the old age facilities, but their mandate has nothing to do with the care of the aged but delivering adequate housing at scale in sustainable human settlements; mobilising well-located public land for low-income and affordable housing with increased densities in land and in general; intelligent informal settlement upgrading with a strong economic, public and green infrastructure focus; and managing the housing environment effectively, among other obligations,” Brand explained.
He also proposed that the Department of Social Development, of which the mandate is to cater to the poor, homeless, food insecurity and senior citizens, be part of this task.
“Most old age homes have not been maintained, causing among many issues residents not having access to hot water for months; pathways full of potholes where the elderly are supposed to walk; electricity cables hanging from the ceilings creating serious safety risks; risks of fire since there are no fire extinguishers; loose tiles on stairways; and leaking wash basins,” he touched on the poor living conditions.
He added that many old age homes have been badly mismanaged, and that no transport is available for residents to collect medication or go to a clinic. Some residents reportedly go without food for weeks, and some residents could not be bathed or cleaned because of a lack of caregivers.
“The current circumstances in our old age homes are a disgrace, stripping our elderly of their dignity and in extreme cases causing illness and death,” said Brand.
The councillor also recommended Council to launch an investigation into allegations of illegal tenants who neither were on the waiting list nor qualified to be housed.
“I recommended Council to instruct the Housing Department urgently to initiate an independent audit of all existing lease agreements to determine the legality of the current tenants; conduct an urgent oversight visit of City-owned old age homes and identify maintenance issues; launch an investigation into the viability of removing the management duty of old age homes from Housing, and tasking JPC and Social Development with the management of these homes,” he explained.
He concluded by indicating that this investigation should be completed within six months of passing of the motion.
This is a developing story.
