Springs elderly lose hope
Confusion over the future of the clubs was evident during the meeting.
The Springs and Malan-Nel senior citizens’ clubs may shut down due to a lack of funding.
Members of the two clubs gathered for a meeting on April 11 about the Department of Social Development’s funding announcement on Monday.
“We attended thinking we were going to be signing our service level agreement for this financial year, only to be told our funding would be cut completely,” said Pauline Houghton, director of the Springs Senior Citizen’s Club.
Sarie Breytenbach, director of Malan-Nel Senior Citizen’s Club, says she was in disbelief when she heard the announcement.
“It felt like cold water poured on my head. I have been working for the club for 37 years and to think it could be closed, feels like my life’s work has gone down the drain,”
The meeting was meant to address the queries and concerns of the respective boards and the beneficiaries of the clubs and to discuss a way forward.
Representatives of the department of social development in Springs were present and were expected to answer questions, but soon walked out of the sitting.
They claimed it was outside their mandate to address beneficiaries and the media. They said they would be responding to management only.
The chairperson of the Springs Senior Citizen’s Club, Ronnie Newby, said he felt the elderly are being forgotten in this for answers.
“They have left us in debt with no way forward. We don’t know what will happen to our members and employees,” he lamented.
Both clubs employ six people each and cater to more than 100 senior citizens each week.
“Our employees will not be getting their salaries and there are no retrenchment packages available for them. It isn’t legal to let someone go just like that, but we don’t have a choice,” he added.
The Springs Senior Citizen’s Club has running costs of about R40 000 per month and Malan-Nel runs on about R60 000.
The clubs offer the elderly activities such as computer classes, crocheting, library facilities, a hairdresser, exercise classes, games and excursions.
They also provide daily meals, which Newby claims are the only decent meals for some members.
“We are more than a social club. We are also a haven for the elderly,” he emphasised.
Stefanie Ueckermann, the Gauteng DA Women’s Network chairperson and the DA’s health and social development spokesperson in Ekurhuleni, tried to give clarity to some of the questions.
She also highlighted the newly proposed structural changes to the department and where the money would be redirected. She mourned the potential ramifications of this restructuring.
“How can the government claim to want to combat unemployment when their decisions are going to lead people to lose their jobs?” she asked.
She advised the clubs not to sign their service delivery agreements as yet until the changes were more concrete.
“It’s not doom and gloom as it’s not yet written in stone. They can still ratify things,” she added.
Members of the clubs voiced how, despite not getting answers from the department, they were given some form of clarity and direction for a way forward.
Newby advised that in the meantime clubs should be looking for short-term solutions until further notice.
“We should be looking to reducing our running costs such as our electricity output and maybe switch to gas,” he remarked.
Ward 75 Clr Charmaine Kock said the elderly form part of the heritage and history of the town.
“The same people who built this town are being kicked in the face,” she said.
