The elderly at Rosehaven retirement village are no longer vulnerable.
However, their safety came at a hefty price.
In the article, Vulnerable elderly, the gap in the boundary wall of the retirement village was reported on.
The wall collapsed on 17 March this year as a result of flooding of the Braamfontein Spruit which flows through George Lea Park under William Nicol Drive. And now, almost three months after the collapse, the threat to security at Rosehaven has finally been repaired. However, it came at a huge cost to the retirement village.
Simon Eccles, the head of maintenance at the village, was exceptionally concerned about the safety of the residents. He said, “These are elderly people who are extremely vulnerable. They cannot afford to live in a place where there is a massive gap in the wall. It is for this reason that I was so committed to solving the problem.”
Eccles said he simply could not wait for the authorities to get involved and decided to take matters into his own hands. “A temporary palisade fence has finally been erected at a cost of R25 080,” he said. “Insurance paid out only half, unfortunately. We are a non-profit organisation and we do not have funds to waste and this was a costly exercise. The fence is not the most secure structure, however, it is secure enough for our needs.”
He added that he was worried that during the next rainy season the banks of the spruit may erode even more and the wall would collapse again.
Johannesburg Roads Agency spokesperson, Bertha Peters-Scheepers had said the roads agency had commissioned a study on the state of the spruit and the steps required to improve the natural habitat and surrounding infrastructure. This study, she said, would only be completed over the next few months.
Eccles believes that if Rosehaven waited for the agency to get involved, the village would be without a secure boundary wall for at least two years. “The security of the residents at the village is even more of a concern because the vagrants that were moved from George Lea Park [north] by Metro [police], are now sorting through their rubbish right next to Rosehaven. This poses a security threat to our elderly residents.”
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