Residents enter St Michael's Women's Home in Sydenham, Durban. Photo credit: De Erasmus
A long-standing rift over living conditions and governance failures affecting three aged care homes in Durban ended on a sweltering December morning as residents took to the streets to seek new boards and a change in management. It culminated in him waving placards demanding that he would no longer tolerate it. Being “ignored”.
By mid-December, the initial sense of hopelessness among residents of the not-for-profit St Michael's, St Gabriel's and Mary Usher homes, built on land in the working-class eThekwini municipality on the outskirts of Sydenham, had subsided. They said it turned into “anger.” Mail and Guardian.
This story is a cautionary tale for seemingly lazy or unscrupulous NGOs and social development departments that are too disorganized and indifferent to the needs of older people.
Residents are being supported by a small group of community leaders and ward councilor Lemona McKenzie. At the request of pensioners, they formed a task team to look into the matter with the Durban Council of South African Women (DBNCSAW), a non-profit organization. houses.
The task force accused the council of a series of administrative failures, including breaches of South Africa's Non-Profit Organizations (NPO) Act and violations of the country's constitution.
The City Council board said the task force was “harassing residents” and trying to “neutralize this organization to take over the bed for voting plans” and spreading disinformation about housing, the board and management. He accused them of spreading the word.
More than 50 residents the M&G spoke to said they fully supported the response team.
The magazine did not name the residents interviewed, but all of them had similar complaints, with one of their most pressing grievances being a “lack of transparency” regarding finances, board appointments and operations. He was not consulted about nominations or appointments.
By its own admission, the council did not hold a general meeting between 2018 and 2019, in violation of statutory requirements under the NPO Act. When approached by the M&G in late November, the facility's manager at the time, Marie-Thérèse Naidoo, defended the failure, blaming it on “administrative challenges” and the coronavirus pandemic. .
A general meeting was scheduled for December 12, shortly after M&G sent questions to DBNCSAW, including the failure to hold a general meeting. But the apparently hastily convened meeting will be held “virtually”, which will require it to be live-streamed to residents receiving the state pension.
The virtual general meeting has been postponed. “[The department of social development] provide support to the organization [with] We plan to hold a general meeting in January 2025,” DBNCSAW chair Charmaine Joad told the M&G.
In a written statement seen by the M&G, Mr Joad denied any mismanagement at the home and said he was directing his anger at the task force who banned him from entering the premises in July. She also tried to stop the December protests to no avail.
“We ultimately want to work with a team of task force members to manage the housing,” said task team member Trudi Lee Lo Shang. “We are not looking to ‘take over.’ We want a board that is accountable and will lead the team to success.”
Mr Low Xiang said the task team has a finance team and a working committee, ready to support the operation of the housing.
“Our finance team will conduct a thorough analysis of each resident's needs. Our health and safety staff will assess each resident's living situation needs and we are already prioritizing immediate needs.” she said, adding that the task team includes a custodian, qualified caregivers and a fundraising team who will begin work when an emergency arises. The current board remains.
The main cause of concern for residents and the response team is that DBNCSAW is refusing to provide financial statements, which is a legal obligation under the NPO Law. Residents claim they have been denied insight into the organization's financial health despite repeated requests.
DBNCSAW sent some of the requested “independently audited” financial statements to M&G, which appear to have been approved by the registered auditor. However, according to the Independent Regulatory Board for Auditors (IRBA), the individuals listed as auditors are not registered in violation of the Auditing Profession Act.
The IRBA is understood to have referred the matter to its legal department. M&G was unable to contact the auditors.
Residents said the “ongoing” uncertainty was especially worrying given unresolved financial difficulties, including three times when the municipality threatened to shut off power due to unpaid utility bills.
The council claims it is owed more than R100,000 in unpaid rent from 12 residents, some of whom reportedly haven't paid since February 2024. They claim this is why they are having difficulty paying their electricity bills.
“Therefore, the organization had to enter into a credit agreement with the revenue service of the eThekwini municipality in order to repay the debt, make payments more affordable and ensure continued access to public services for all facilities ” said Naidu.
However, residents and the response team disputed this claim, saying rent was usually paid on time and that only one resident was refusing to pay.
Residents also expressed concerns about the perception of preferential rental rates. They allege that rent levels vary arbitrarily and that some residents receive preferential treatment based on their “personal relationships with management and the board.”
Residents say some people pay R850 a month, while others pay R1,500. According to the state Department of Social Development, 90 people live in the three homes. If you charge every resident R1,500, rental income could reach R135,000 per month.
Naidu said rents are determined by each household's operating costs, rejecting any disparity based on favoritism.
Despite the lack of clear and transparent rent scales and administrators and boards lamenting lack of funding, residents say that out of all three units, only vacancies are available for rent. The fact that there were 10 rooms similarly fueled suspicion.
living environment
In St. Michael's and St. Gabriel's, which the M&G visited at the request of residents, damage from borers is common.
Gutters are falling, paint is peeling, window latches are loose, windows are cracked, and faucets are leaking in bathrooms and communal kitchen areas. While mold is prevalent.
However, Mr Naidoo said that in the past year, DBNCSAW has replaced several doors, repaired defective door locks, replaced windows and geysers, and removed some wardrobes damaged by borers. He said that some rooms were moisture-proofed and painted.
Residents disputed that these repairs were made, claiming they were a “quick and cheap job”.
Naidu said there are plans to make other repairs as soon as funding is available.
In St. Michael's, residents are prohibited from using the shared kitchen facilities, which are equipped with donated stoves.
“The short-term plan is to install gas stoves and ovens for fundraising purposes, as the use of stoves increases costs for the municipality. Some residents use their own stoves in their rooms. '' says Naidoo, seemingly unaware of the health risks associated with cooking in a small bedroom.
Although the current board has been in place for about six years and a new management team has been in place for nearly a year, there is no fundraising team. One is to undergo “initiation,” Naidu said.
She said she didn't even have money for tents or pest control. “This will only be completed once funding is secured.”
The NPO admitted that it does not have a compliance certificate from the social development department. Naidoo said the necessary documents would be submitted in 2023-24, but did not explain why this was overlooked.
Residents claim the lack of compliance certificates highlights a broader problem of mismanagement. “It's hard to trust a management team that isn't fulfilling even basic legal obligations,” said one person.
The department told the M&G that DBNCSAW was first reported in 2017, before the previous board was “voted out” and the current board was installed.
However, residents claim this was an illegal move, given that five of the newly elected board members were not included in the notice to attend the board meeting. All residents the M&G spoke to deemed the council to be “unlawful”.
There are only three members of the board of directors: Mr. Joad, Patricia Isaacs and Charmaine Henry. Mr Isaacs lives in a room in St Gabriel's House, which is supposed to be reserved for single men on pensions, but is said to be rent-free.
inadequate supervision
The department has a lot to answer for in the ongoing turmoil, given that, by its own admission, it has known about the allegations of domestic misfortune and neglect for about seven years.
The group told the M&G that the not-for-profit organization was “registered with eight outstanding annual compliance reports” and that despite a new board there were “ongoing… challenges”.
The ministry said it sent teams to inspect homes on November 30 and December 12, 2023, following allegations of abuse. These include residents being sworn in and threatened with eviction if they support task forces, and 70- and 80-year-olds being required to clean and clean common facilities.
“During this visit, a dialogue was held with the residents, who denied the allegations of abuse,” the ministry said.
When the task force tried to enter the homes for preliminary meetings earlier this year, they were refused entry by a resident believed to be close to Mr Joad. Police had to intervene.
The ministry said it had conducted a “surveillance visit” to Mary Asher with Naidoo on August 14. “On the day of the visit, the house was very clean and tidy. There was interaction with several residents on the day, and the residents expressed their joy at the facility,” the agency said.
However, the organization also told the M&G that during the same visit, the nonprofit organization failed to provide “vital records” such as tax returns and rental agreements. These are documents the task team has been requesting for several months.
On August 15, the Ministry visited St. Michael's and St. Gabriel's Cathedrals. The homes were clean, but both needed “major renovations,” she said.
At a follow-up meeting on Aug. 19, residents told department officials that the facility did not have a cleaner and one had been sent in prior to the department's visit. Residents reportedly used their public pension funds to purchase cleaning materials for common areas and did the cleaning themselves.
In a virtual meeting with three board members and Naidoo on Aug. 21, the ministry asked for the organization's articles of incorporation, shareholder meeting documents, annual financial statements and tax returns.
“The board has submitted audited financial statements and tax returns, except for these,” the ministry said.
It is “assistance” to residents, which includes “engaging” with DBNCSAW on “governance issues.” This includes holding a general meeting, an implementation plan regarding the findings after the department's visit, and a “revenue and expenditure report to the city.” Submissions are requested regarding transparency regarding the organization's finances and the use of resident grants. ” Resident committees will also be established in all three housing units.
The ministry did not provide a timeline for the intervention.
After first responding to the M&G's emailed questions, Mr Naidoo said he was “unable to respond” to further questions and directed questions to Mr Joad, who did not respond.
Asked in December when he expected to hear back from the M&G, Mr Joad said: [the] Protests, dealing with angry residents, calming frightened residents, preparing for general meetings, etc. ”
She said Naidoo had resigned and “left the board to deal with business matters.”
