By BAKANG MOKOTO
The death of an elderly man led the North West Department of Social Development to shut down the unregistered Ipeleng Bagodi Old Age Home in Jericho, near Brits. The North West MEC for Social Development, Sussana Dantjie, who visited the centre on Tuesday, has instructed the owners to shut it down.
According to Dantjie, the centre was operating without a licence. She further said the centre failed to comply with minimum standards for residential facilities catering for older persons. She added that her department convened a meeting with the management of the centre, board members and the traditional leadership to inform them of her decision to close down the facility.
“This is amid thorough consultation with individual families of the elderly people who are being accommodated at the facility. After reaching consensus with the affected individual families, the current residents of the home will be moved to other suitable facilities.
“The decision to close the home comes after two elderly men, Daniel Madumo (92) and Jeremia Mmatli (75), allegedly killed another one, Themba Motsepe (80). The pair were arrested and later died in detention. We will visit all the affected families to inform them about our decision to close the facility,” said Dantjie.
She said they will also present to them alternative old age homes, which are funded by the state so that they make a choice on their own. Dantjie said they cannot fold their arms when the NPO Act and Older Persons Act are violated.
“We are the custodians of these acts. Our department will give the Centre Manager ample time to address compliance matters at the facility and to apply for an operating licence.
“We are adamant about compliance with the law and the incidents that took place at the facility, are an eye opener and have called for the department to embark on an expedition to check the registration status of each Non-Profit Organisation (NPO) across the province,” she said.
Meanwhile, the community members, including traditional leadership, unanimously agreed with the decision to close the facility, while sorting out the outstanding issues to satisfy the prescribed requirements for operating an old age home.
The Guardian 