Elderly residents, between the ages of 75 and 95, took to the streets and burnt tyres as they protested against the removal of power boxes from several units at the Nirvana Haven Old Age Home in Lenasia.
The power-cuts have had dire consequences for many residents, including an 84-year-old who depends on a ventilator, and a 92-year-old, who was burnt while boiling water on a gas stove.
The crisis led MP Imraan Moosa to open a case of attempted murder at the Lenasia SAPS, citing the contravention of the Elderly Persons Act of 2006 as the basis for the charge.
Moosa told the POST that he was inundated with calls for assistance from the residents following the protest. He said the power was cut off by the City due to bills from deceased residents who previously lived in the homes.
“When the new residents moved into the homes of those who had died, the meters were supposed to be changed. They were asked to pay about R14,000 to change the meters, but they are elderly and lack that kind of money. The power was cut off at seven homes. An 84 years old woman was on a ventilator when the power was disconnected.”
Residents rallied to find an extension cord to connect the machine to a neighbour’s power supply.
“The power was cut off without any consideration for the elderly residents who rely on electricity for ventilators, other medical appliances, and their basic needs.
“When I got to the home, I assisted the residents by making phone calls and arranging meetings with the relevant departments and authorities.”
He said residents were told they needed to go to a service centre to fill in forms, which was over 5km from where they lived.
“They are all elderly, and some of them can barely walk. There was no humanitarian effort or kindness shown to them. I arranged transportation for the woman on the ventilator and a few others. Today, they went to fill in their forms. This morning, we had a meeting at the home with city officials and members of the Department of Social Development (DSD). We were promised that the power would be on by tonight.
“If not, we will continue to put pressure on the city. After the meeting with the city officials, the Deputy Minister of DSD, Ganief Hendricks, and I went to the Lenasia police station and opened a case of attempted murder. The city needs to be held accountable for the lives of the elderly, which were jeopardised due to the power cut.
“They had contravened the Elder Persons Act of 2006. They should be coming to the elderly and giving them services, not jeopardising their lives. They must be held responsible for their actions,” Moosa added.
Farouk Cassim, chairman of the Nirvana Haven Old Age Home, said they were tired of the city not responding to their complaints.
“When the previous home owners died, the city never came to change the power boxes. When the boxes were removed, the officials did not care that the elderly would be at serious health risks due to the power being shut off.
“We have about 120 residents living here. We rallied to get an extension cord to help the resident who needed the ventilator, and another 92-year-old resident who was burnt during the power cut while trying to heat water on a gas stove.
“They all live alone and are frail and ill. We felt as if our voices were not heard. We have cried out for so long about us having to push our own bins at this age, and us not having a cleaner for the facility.
“We have also been asking for the geysers, which are leaking and some not working, to be fixed. We are paying plumbers to do private jobs, which we cannot afford, just so that we can have running hot water. The power cut and seeing the elderly and sick residents scramble to help each other pushed us to protest and burn tyres,” he added.
Cassim said the protest had yielded “good results”.
“Elderly people here have been ignored for a long time. Our voices were finally heard. We had help from Imraan Moosa and we feel that our concerns are being heard. We just need the lights sorted so we can carry on with our lives,” Cassim added.
The city had not provided a comment at the time of publication.
