Retirement Centre turns into a hell-house
This place is dysfunctional, we living our daily lives in constant fear we don’t know what will happen next.
The elderly residents of Donovan McDonald Retirement Centre stated if something was not done to address their poor living conditions, people would end up killing each other.
After numerous complains about the living conditions at Donovan McDonald Retirement Centre, the senior citizens lamented that they were spending their last days on Earth being emotionally and physically abused, and abandoned.
“When my family placed me in this centre, we thought that this is where I would be taken care of, find peace of mind and comfort and make new friends. Little did I know that I had moved into a hell-house,” said resident Henry Jurius.
“This place is dysfunctional, we are living in constant fear as we don’t know what will happen next. We are being harassed by management and even particular residents. Some of those residents have made themselves owners of this centre and they think that they have the right to ill-treat others,” he explained.
Also Read: Donovan McDonald drama after assault on elderly
Those living at the centre said the Johannesburg Property Company, the owner of the centre, had abandoned its residents. “This place is a hellhole. It has become so bad that the fearful residents have armed themselves with knives.
“There is no unity among residents because of issues of racism and there are people not even close to retirement age who illegally occupy the units. Some residents’ family members live with them at the centre. There is drug and alcohol abuse and in most cases that is the reason why fights break out,” Jurius continued to explain.
Other allegations include people who rent units at the centre but live elsewhere and sublet those units in the centre for between R4 000 to R6 000 a month. This while thousands of elderly people are still on the waiting list, hoping that they will be allocated a unit.
He also mentioned that when a fire broke out in one of the units recently, the residents were unable to extinguish it because there are no fire extinguishers at the centre. Maintenance is also a problem as leaking geysers and broken toilets are never repaired. The building is six storeys high but the lifts are often out of order.
“I have been addressing these issues with the Housing Department for years. We have had a few meetings with officials of Housing Region C, but up to now they have taken no action to address the living conditions at this centre,” he added.
The Record contacted Ward 70 councillor, Caleb Finn about these issues, and he said, “We recently had a meeting with the residents and they addressed all their concerns. The Facility Manager from the City’s Housing Department was also at the meeting and she took notes. She will address those issues with the appropriate senior officials in the Housing Department.
“However, I am busy compiling a report to the MMC of Housing, which will be submitted shortly. A meeting will soon be scheduled with the residents to provide further feedback.
Do you perhaps have more information pertaining to this story? Email us at roodepoortrecord@caxton.co.za (remember to include your contact details) or phone us on 011 955 1130.
For free daily local news on the West Rand, also visit our sister newspaper websites
Remember to visit our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages to let your voice be heard!
