Residents at the municipal-run Elizabeth Stuurman Old Age Home in Schauderville are living in shocking conditions, with some not having had running water for the past two months.
To add to their woes, unoccupied outbuildings in the vicinity have been vandalised by unsavoury characters.
As a result, broken toilets, mounting rubbish and filthy needles in the area paint a picture of despair.
It is understood that of the 113 senior citizens at the home, 21 residents have been without running water due to vandalism and the looting of copper pipes.
Though the Nelson Mandela Bay municipality maintains the water situation has since been resolved, when a Herald team visited the home on Tuesday there was no water in large sections of the facility.
In the meantime, the senior citizens also fear becoming victims of crime.
The Herald was taken on a tour of the facility.
Some of the issues noted included toilets without flushing water, overgrown grass in areas where snakes had been spotted, and dilapidated outbuildings that were affected by a fire as far back as 2010.
The charred buildings have in turn attracted vagrants who make use of them at night to do drugs.
This was evident from the syringes, needles and small packets left behind.
Long-term resident Geraldine Weman, 65, who moved into Elizabeth Stuurman in 2008, said they used to be very happy there.
She said there used to be a security guard who would do his rounds at night.
According to her, the last time any proper maintenance was done at the facility was in 2018.
“When Danny Jordaan was mayor [May 2015 to August 2016], he said we should live freely here.
“But the only visits we now get from the municipality is about every six months when they cut the grass.
“The grass is long, there are snakes.
“Two or three snakes were killed at the back recently.
“It is unsafe for us to live like this.”
Weman said the fence bordering the back of the property was broken by vandals to gain access to the building.
Another resident, Denise Strauss, 74, said the home had been without a consistent supply of running water for two months.
Daily, she had to collect water from nearby taps or the JoJo tank.
“My lower back and arms are sore,” she said.
“I am sick. I have arthritis, diabetes and the flu at the moment.
“It is unhygienic not to have water to flush the toilet.
“At night, I must use the bucket system and empty it in the morning.
“It is dangerous to go and get water at night.”
The newly elected chair of the home, Pastor Neville Kluyt, believed infrastructure vandalism and looting were the reasons for the lack of water.
A further inspection of the property by The Herald revealed a number of bathrooms and power boxes that had been vandalised.
“[Vagrants] walk in here freely and do their own thing,” Kluyt said.
“We do not feel safe and feel like the municipality does not care.”
Richard de Donker, 79, who has lived at the home for three years, said they were hopeful after a recent meeting that a security guard would be provided to them in about a month’s time.
Another resident, Ursula Butler, 68, said the committee had engaged the municipality about fixing the problems.
However, she claimed little was being done.
“It is sad that people over 80 must walk to collect water.”
Secretary Cliffie Jenneker confirmed the complaints raised by the residents.
“I communicate the complaints to the municipality daily. Their response is that we must wait for services,” Jenneker said.
Human settlements political head Thembinkosi Mafana said the municipality’s facilities management team had attended to a water leak at the premises which was reported on August 4.
“An email was later sent to say water was restored.”
Mafana denied the residents’ claims that the home was not being maintained.
He said there were plans to renovate the dilapidated buildings and there had also been discussions about improving security measures.
“The [water] matter, in our view, is resolved, except to note that, should the issue persist, our officials will conduct a further inspection.
“If necessary, facilities management will be consulted to provide assistance and prevent any prolonged periods of water outages.
“Maintenance at old age homes is ongoing.
“Grass is cut once a month.
“Last month, the grass was cut. So it is inaccurate to say that grass was not cut.
“This is contractual work.”
On the security issue, he said: “The gate motor was stolen.
“The directorate is in the process of procuring the service provider to reinstall the motor.
“Supply chain processes are ongoing.”
Mafana said discussions were also under way with safety and security to source personnel to man the home.
“Plans are in place to revamp the building once we have funds under the capital budget,” he said.
Municipal spokesperson Mthubanzi Mniki confirmed that the water supply challenge experienced at the home had been caused by internal infrastructure-related issues.
“Upon receiving the report, the municipality promptly dispatched a technical team to assess the situation and implement the necessary corrective measures,” Mniki said.
“The municipality can confirm that the challenge has since been resolved and water services have been restored.
“As a caring and responsive city, the municipality remains committed to ensuring residents receive reliable and efficient services.
“We understand the importance of uninterrupted access to water, particularly at facilities serving vulnerable residents, including the elderly.”
He said the municipality would continue to monitor the situation to ensure the necessary infrastructure remained functional and that any service interruptions were attended to as swiftly as possible.
“We further encourage residents and affected facilities to report service challenges through the appropriate municipal channels so that they can be escalated and addressed without delay,” Mniki said.
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