Residents concerned as conditions of their beloved home deteriorate

Residents occupying units at the Klein Helderkruin Centre for the Aged are baffled by the tiring issue of basic service delivery from officials – specifically about the delayed maintenance as water spillage, flooding, and faulty infrastructure leave them frustrated.

The centre houses about 273 residents, who face a joint plight when it comes to their supply of water and having to maintain the facilities thereof, although senior citizens must collect and carry buckets of water to and from their units as some days, the water gets shut off.

According to Gabriella Richardson, who serves on the management committee of the centre, they have been sent from pillar to post for the past three years, with three meetings being held with various officials from the Gauteng Department of Human Settlement, however only promises were made, and no action was taken.

“After another meeting, a contractor was sent out to assess three days subsequently, however, no work was done as he [the contractor] said that the housing department [Gauteng Department of Human Settlement] would not pay him for his rendered services,” Richardson said.

From the last meeting, they were told that there had been no budget allocated and no contractor and the matter was referred back to housing.

Residents say they are up in arms as some are left without geysers for close to nine months now and hold the committee accountable, however, the committee’s mandate does not allow for intervention in this regard.

With burst pipes and flooding being a regular occurrence, residents fear for their safety and possessions – some cited their wooden furniture gets damaged in the process and the repairing costs are insurmountable. Other residents said they must endure the stench coming from the overflow and burst pipes and have to take medication for this.

Resident Liesel Meyer complained of her toilet leaking and not flushing because if she does, it overflows. She said she has experienced flooding in her unit more than once and her situation has been like this for over seven months.

Another resident Lucille Prince said she has water running from outside into her unit, and the pressure valve occasionally bursts causing flooding into her unit. She explained about a recent experience of flooding on September 27 and said her furniture is affected as the water slowly erodes the wood.

Residents also said that during the meeting with MMC for Human Settlements, ward councillor Anthea Leitch confirmed the issue of the contractor, however, it has been alleged that a budget came through in July of this year.

In a bid for proactive solutions, residents were demotivated when they learnt that no outsiders or private NGOs can intervene to assist, which begs the question: Who should be held accountable and if nothing bears fruit, why are residents not allowed to resort to their own devices?

The matter has since turned into a political merry-go-round and according to Ward 83 councillor Flora Roberts, the residents’ maintenance issues have been ignored for over a year, causing a deteriorating situation, and further escalating the disaster caused by the city’s ‘merry-go-round administration’.

Roberts went on to say that the housing department has refused to implement a tender and quote system, causing delays in maintenance spending, possibly due to party-political ambitions.

Roberts and the Volunteer Administrative Working Group have visited the retirement centre to assess the ongoing maintenance issues faced by elderly residents. Issues include burst pipes, unlit passages, blocked drains, broken sanitary ware, and damaged geysers. Residents have gone without water and used electricity for hygiene purposes.

About 15 separate maintenance lists have been generated to no avail. Roberts had public meetings at the centre where she addressed the residents’ concerns directly and shared her frustrations working with the housing department.

At her last meeting held in the hall on September 6, she painfully had to yet again inform residents that housing officials were still working on “a three-quote system” which is just a delay tactic.

“During the 2021 Municipal Election, Action SA visited an old age home and promised to fix issues. Two years later, they have not made any progress. This is a shameful practice by political parties, who use old age homes to boost their campaigns. The Patriotic Alliance also makes promises to fix problems,” Roberts said.

The DA Chair of the Oversight Section 79 Committee met with the residents personally to take up the issues with the Ombudsman and Human Rights Commission.

The same experience is being endured at all the City-owned old age homes across Joburg.

“It is unacceptable. This is a violation of their human rights – and we need the whole of society to stop elderly abuse in all its forms. The City of Johannesburg should be the example of excellent service to our most valued senior citizens but sadly their greed and corruption have consumed whatever dignity there was for the aged,” Roberts said.

The MMC for Human Settlements and other entities mentioned in this report were unavailable for comment at the time of publication and a follow-up will be done once received.