WITH more than 85 people overcrowded in Izotsha and another 20 at Oatlands, the KwaZulu Natal Department of Social Development (DoSD) has not provided aid to those in serious need of social services at Hope House shelters.
Last week, the Sunday Independent reported that both non-profit organisations (NPO), located in Margate, were found to be severely overcrowded, with no running water and unsanitary conditions.
According to whistleblower Geraldine Moatshe, who has since stepped in to assist in collecting aid, many of the elderly tenants trapped in the shelters were allegedly without rooftops and suffered from cold conditions.
The police have since arrested three women and one man in charge of the NPOs, namely Deon De Beer, Angeline Theunessen, Alet Swart, and Linda Meyer.
The suspects, who are currently out on bail, are facing charges of tampering with infrastructure, extortion, and neglect.
Maotshe said she asked the local director at DoSD to escalate the matter to the MEC as there was no intervention from the local Department of Social Development.
“I have told Mrs Khuzwayo that she should involve the DoSD MEC and also get disaster management to remove certain people from the property who need assistance at a professional level for drug and alcohol abuse, as well as removing others to allow them to go to other available shelters in Durban so we can have a lower number of people left at because it is impossible to feed them effectively and raise the young ones well so they become independent and successful,” she said.
Maotshe said it was important to get assistance as she felt that this would restore order and ensure the place was not overcrowded.
“Unfortunately, there is no assistance with food or funding. The local social workers only came in for profiling and assessment of each individual on the farm; there was no indication of whether they were going to help us because they said they had no feedback at this stage.
“At the moment, we can only accommodate plus or minus 50 people because we have a big farm, but without assistance of food and funding to get this place fixed," Maotshe said.
Despite promises for a comment, KZN DoSD spokesperson Thuba Vilane did not respond to questions from the publication.
Among other allegations were that suspects arrested were also abusing alcohol and drugs, resulting in the sale of donated furniture and food.
According to the South Coast Herald, shelter residents who did not want to be named said they paid the woman running the shelter R900 a month in rent.
“We live in terrible conditions. It’s so sad to see the elderly in tears. They are sometimes mistreated by the shelter management, and there’s little we can do as we don’t have anywhere else to go.
“At times, we have witnessed items brought in by the community but taken away and sold. We are desperately seeking help from anyone to place us in better living conditions or proper management to take over the shelters,” the residents said.
The Herald reported that some organisations have extended a helping hand to provide emergency support and food for the residents at both shelters.
Last year, our sister paper The Star reported that the then Social Development, Agriculture, Rural Development, and Environmental MEC, Mbali Hlophe, found horrifying cases of corruption involving NPOs and some officials within the department.
Among those in the spotlight was a homeless shelter at 2 Struben Street in Tshwane, which was found to be an environmentally non-compliant structure, filled with uncollected waste, overflowing toilets, and filthy shacks within the building where close to 600 people reside.
During a police raid on the facility, several illegal immigrants were arrested, along with some running illicit cigarette and alcohol businesses within the facility.
At the time, the department’s head of department, Matilda Gasela, suspended officials implicated in the investigation, and the department has reviewed its NPO application, evaluation, and monitoring processes to close gaps that enabled corrupt NPOs to access millions of rand meant for the poor.
The Gauteng Social Development Department spends a whopping R2.4 billion a year on NPOs, while the Western Cape spends R1bn, KZN R600 million and the remainder of the provinces below R500m each.
In February, political party actions raised concerns about the KZN DoSD reducing funding to NPOs after the department advised that all funded NPOs can expect reduced funding in upcoming years.
The party stated it would consider legal action against the KZN DoSD to compel them to meet their responsibilities.