MEC makes shocking discoveries at Durban mental health society

SHOCKING conditions were discovered when the KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Social Development, Nonhlanhla Khoza, made an unannounced visit to the Durban and Coastal Mental Health Society (DCMH) in Sherwood on Wednesday. 

The visit came after a resident from the facility posted a message on social media highlighting the poor quality of food they receive.

Khoza was joined by head of the Department of Social Development, Nelisiwe Vilakazi.

“It is shocking to see how the board has run the affairs in that institution. The appointment of service providers who have no contracts is one of the concerns. The institution is currently unable to perform its responsibility very well. It is clear that there has been mismanagement and misappropriation of funds in the institution,” she said.

Khoza said the department is funding the institution with a lot of money and the service it renders should reflect the amount of money allocated to the institution.

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“This institution is expected to render services to the most vulnerable groups in our society. Our service users can never be treated like this. We were very disappointed by the food given to the end users in the facility.

“The food given to them is not healthy. No person can eat sandwiches for breakfast and lunch. We give funding to this organisation to take care of our people. We want to ensure that their dignity is restored,” she said.

Khoza said the board of directors is governed by the NPO Act and should be compliant with it and all other laws of the country.

“We need to see this board having a turnaround strategy. There are unforgivable things that are taking place in this institution. We are not going to leave this matter unattended to because the end users are going to suffer,” she said.

She added that the financial problems in the institution need urgent attention.

“The inefficiencies of a bloated management structure have also brought the institution to its knees. The department will be working with the board to fix the problems facing this institution. We will get to the bottom of this and ensure whoever is responsible for such maladministration and corruption embezzled faces the law,” said Khoza.

Khoza added that the department will continue providing funding to the institution to ensure that beneficiaries are not affected. She has also appointed a team to help deal with problems at the facility.

One woman, who asked not to be named for fear of reprisals, said her relative had lived at the home for more than 20 years.

“The organisation ran fine for years, but what is happening now is mismanagement of finances. The Department of Social Development provides funding and they receive residents’ grants, so they should have the finances to take care of their residents. My relative and other residents are receiving dry bread for supper. On one occasion this was mouldy, they haven’t had proper fruit and vegetables for so long, toilet paper is running out, and we were told to provide this and toiletries for our family members at a meeting last month. We want to know what is happening with the money,” said another relative, who asked not to be named.

The Durban and Coastal Mental Health Society did not respond to a request for comment at the time of publication. 

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