The Roodepoort Care of the Aged (RCA) recently held its annual general meeting (AGM) at Tornado Park. A number of items were on the agenda, including the reports from the chairman, treasurer and auditor, nominations for members of the management board and ombudsman, and the resignations of chairperson Darrell Phillips and Dorcas Aid’s Annette Reed. While Reed’s decision to resign was accepted, Phillips reversed his decision to leave the board and decided to continue his tenure as chairperson. This was viewed as positive news by fellow board member Rae Bouwer, who wanted some continuity after the passing of vice-chairperson Abel Mompei earlier this month. Mompei had been scheduled to take over the chairperson’s role if Phillips stepped down.
Mervin Matthews accepted his re-election to the board as ombudsman.
The burning issues of the day were transportation to and from clinics and hospitals, and the board nominations. Members from the Soweto centres were unhappy at the fact that they had not received a nomination sheet and claimed this occurred at each AGM.
It was suggested that transportation services, which had been temporarily suspended in other centres because of the rising costs of fuel and the resignation of one of the drivers, should be resumed at an increased fee of R100 per annum, instead of the previous amount of R30, in order to assist those at the centres. The members did not agree to this increase, and settled for R35.
The constitution was also amended to allow members under 60 years of age to be co-opted onto the board. Phillips said this was to bring in members who could provide positive contributions to the organisation.
During the meeting, the fact that there was a deficit of almost R90 000 in the RCA’s accounts was brought to light, but as Phillips explained, the shortfall was due to various factors.
“The RCA had a contingency fund from donations but over the last two years, we’ve had to use it because of the lack of funds from some of our funders and the rising costs of food.
However, we’ve been having strategic planning meetings to identify where our strengths and weaknesses lie so we can progress next year,” he said.
The RCA will be meeting again a few weeks to conclude issues such as the nominations and how to move the organisation forward.
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