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Until this week, ailing residents had been unable to use showers, listen to or watch the news, and enjoy their favourite TV shows and soapies at a Gauteng old-age home.
Their dire situation, which had lasted for three weeks, was brought on by Eskom cutting the power to the home last month – because management at the Vosloorus Society for the Care of the Aged owed the power utility a whopping R1.2 million.
More than 100 elderly residents at the home, who have different ailments, including dementia, were initially forced to light candles at night, which posed a risk to their lives.
Eskom admitted to City Press that it had cut off supply to the home, despite its stated policy to institute power “interruptions” at municipalities across the country that owe the power utility R15.961 billion in total.
Power was only restored to the home this week after R21 000 was paid.
Winston Thole, a 70-year-old resident at the Vosloorus home, painted a gloomy picture of the living conditions. He said residents shared warm water that was distributed daily in small amounts by caregivers.
“Nurses are struggling to get hot water. We can’t use showers. We don’t know how much we pay and we are not given straight answers. What we know is that we get change from our grant money,” Thole said.
City Press has learnt that the management of the home, headed by Sechaba Mathenjwa, deducts R1 400 from each of the pensioners’ grants.
Government had increased their grant from R1 600 to R1 690 in April.
After their electricity was disconnected, the elderly and staff at the home staged protests at Eskom’s Boksburg offices and at the ANC’s headquarters at Luthuli House, without success.
A source at the home alleged that the management had failed to pay Eskom because of corruption and the mismanagement of funds.
“Now the majority of our patients, who are elderly and frail, use cold water to bath, while others share the little they have,” said the source. “We don’t have generators. We make sure that by 5.30pm all patients are in bed. It is too risky to use candle light because some of them have mental disorders like dementia.”
The source said that staff had reported corruption at the home to the Gauteng department of social development, but nothing was forthcoming.
Eskom Gauteng spokesperson Nkosana Sibuyi confirmed that the home had an account balance of R1 232 403.18, of which R1 134 752.46 was debt which was more than 60 days in arrears.
“A number of meetings were held between Eskom, management and the board of the Vosloorus Society for the Care of the Aged in January, April, May and June this year to find a long-term, sustainable solution to this electricity debt. At these meetings, Eskom appealed to the home to fulfil their financial obligations, and suggested payment options to the representatives,” said Sibuyi.
“Consequently, given the representatives’ inability to present a preferred payment option, a disconnection notice was issued on August 22, informing the home’s management of Eskom’s intention to disconnect. No response was received from the home.
“The home was subsequently disconnected on September 13,” Sibuyi said, confirming that electricity was reconnected following the payment.
When asked why power was cut off at the home rather than at the indebted municipality, Eskom reiterated that the home’s management had failed to respond to Eskom’s notice that it would disconnect power.
Eskom added that power interruptions depended on agreements signed with affected municipalities.
Mathenjwa referred questions to the Gauteng department of social development. But the department’s spokesperson, Xaba Mbangwa, did not respond to questions sent to him.
In April, Mbangwa confirmed to City Press that the office of MEC Nandi Mayathula-Khoza had received a complaint from a whistle-blower at the home on January 12. He said at the time that the department would institute an inquiry into allegations made by the whistle-blower. These included:
• Mismanagement of funds (including issuing cheques, payment of salaries, change of pension money and purchase of groceries);
• Unfair dismissal of employees;
• Mismanagement of donations and theft of property (products going missing from the storeroom);
• Misuse of the vehicle – meant to ferry the elderly to clinics and hospitals – for personal reasons by staff on weekends and during office hours;
• Unconstitutional election of the current board; and
• Meals that were unhealthy and lacking in nutrition.
