THE OFFICE of the Chair of Chairs accompanied by the City’s Ombudsman conducted an oversight tour at the Donovan McDonald Retirement Centre in Roodepoort on Monday, 22 May 2023.
The visit follows complaints from residents about deteriorating conditions including lack of adequate maintenance and safety concerns.
The office of the Chairs of Chairs was represented by Director for Governance and Oversight Mr Sam Shabane, the Acting Regional Head Winsley Masinga, and the
Advocate Livhuwani Tshiwalule from the Office of the Ombudsman.
The teams interacted with the residents at the facility to get first-hand experience of the conditions. Some of the issues identified included cracked floor tiles, broken windows, and burst
water pipes that have been flowing for months. The facility is a high-rise building and the elderly depend on the lifts to move around where some of the lifts are not working.
This has
posed a major concern and frustration to the elderly.
Shabane assured residents that the office of Chairs of Chairs will coordinate efforts from relevant departments to improve the quality of services.
“We will ensure that all departments and persons responsible for maintenance on health and safety issues are held responsible. We have also brought officials from the ombudsman’s office
that has the mandate to ensure that whoever is responsible for the deteriorating conditions is held accountable.
Some of the major complaints raised by the residents included a poor state of security which has resulted in incidents of vehicle theft in the premises. Residents also complained that some of
the occupants in the units live there illegally.
The Office of the Ombudsman had their stall set-up at the venue to allow the residents to register complaints.
Tshiwalule encouraged residents to make use of the ombudsman’s office for long-standing issues, especially those that pose health and safety risk especially to frail elderly.
“The city has a responsibility to ensure that every senior citizen is well taken care of in these facilities. Therefore, all departments including social development must play their role to ensure that this facility provides a conducive living condition,” said Tshiwalule.
Shabane promised the residents that the team will return to the facility to inspect progress on the issues raised.
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