Cable theft sees old age home plunged in darkness for close to a month

For almost four weeks, ailing residents of the Mamelodi Old Age Home in the Ikageng area have been unable to use showers, listen to or watch the news or enjoy their favourite TV and radio shows.

Gauteng Department of Social Development spokesperson Motsamai Motlhaolwa confirmed that the home had no electricity due to cable theft.

Motlhaolwa said the acting centre manager had also notified the department about the theft.

“The board confirmed that the gas is bought once every two weeks, and the staff is hard at work to make sure the older persons bathe, have meals and have tea regularly,” said Mothlaolwa.

He said the staff was working overtime to resolve the challenges experienced.

The home’s electricity plight was highlighted to Rekord after several concerns had been raised.

Ikageng resident Walter Mabaso claimed that the 54 elderly residents, who have different ailments, were initially forced to use candles at night, which posed a risk to their lives.

Mabaso, who lives next to the home, alleged that family members had started complaining about the home being without power for four weeks.

He said the elderly residents were first left in the dark following a cable theft incident in the middle of March.

He added that it was already freezing as winter was around the corner.

“Elderly people need to be kept warm at all times with heaters, warm soup, warm bath water, and tea,” he said.

He said the incident was reported to the relevant authorities to take action, but there was no swift response.

He confirmed that indeed the cable had been stolen, and it wasn’t clear why the centre manager had failed to urgently attend to the matter.

“No one knows why she failed to inform family members of elderly people.”

Mabaso said the site had no backup generator and a lot of money was spent buying gas to run daily activities, such as cooking, making tea and warming water for bathing.

“The home is supposed to be a haven for elderly people, but this situation puts their lives at risk.

“We have tried to engage with the centre manager, who always postpones meetings until further notice.

“The Department of Social Development needs to intervene and talk to the elderly and nurses to find out about the conditions at the home,” he said.

Zebilon Monama said his mother-in-law is one of the elderly residents and she complains about sitting in the dark.

He said she complained that it was freezing at night and they no longer had electricity.

“We have contacted the centre manager about the issue of electricity, but she could not give concrete answers about the dire situation or appalling living conditions.”

Furthermore, residents have claimed the home receives a lot of donations from different organisations, but they claim these are not given to them.

Shirley Mdhluli from the Mamelodi Concerned Residents’ Association said last year they visited the home following a complaint about its condition.

She said the members of the association were shocked at the appalling conditions their elderly were living in.

“We found the place very dirty and smelly; the roof was leaking, and clothes were lying on the floor,” said Mdhluli.

“We then set up an emergency meeting with the centre manager but we are still waiting for the centre manager to confirm the date for the meeting to discuss a way forward to come up with a solution to resolve the state of the home,” she said.

She added that Mamelodi residents were also failing the elderly people by placing them in the home but rarely visiting them.

“If they were visiting them constantly, they would have known earlier about the state of the home.”

The management and board members of the home did not respond to Rekord’s inquiry at the time of publishing.

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