Department of Social Development Will Monitor Progress at Ekuphumleni Old Age Home

The Department of Social Development is closely monitoring Ekuphumleni Old Age Home in Gugulethu to ensure that all residents are appropriately cared for and protected.

The Department continuously monitors all registered residential care facilities, and ensures compliance to service delivery norms and standards.

The acting Head of Department, Marion Johnson, said: "My staff have visited the home to assess whether the elderly are being properly taken care of. To further assist the home, we have allocated R1.2 million to the upgrade of the infrastructure of this facility."

Unemployed youth from the community were recruited and trained to work on the upgrade project, along with a registered NPO.

The new management has been instructed to put the following corrective measures in place by 31 July 2011:

• Develop financial, asset management, human resources and communication policies.
• Institute a donation register in order to control and verify donations received from the public.
• Appoint a manager for the facility as well as a bookkeeper.
• To apply for a NPO certificate and develop and new constitution by the end of this year.

To avoid any unnecessary disruptions at the Ekuphumleni Old Age Home, the Department will continue to closely monitor the situation.