Probe into revamp of old-age homes

Poor workmanship in the revamp of four old age homes in Port Elizabeth’s northern areas will be the subject of an investigation by the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality.

About R4.5-million of the R6.8-million budget for the year has been poured into fixing up the buildings, but councillors complained there had been very few changes and demanded to know why.

The old age homes are Adcock, Elizabeth Stuurman, Bethelsdorp and Allan Hendricks.

The city took back the management of the four facilities last year.

The homes, which are the property of the municipality, had deteriorated into a state of disrepair, with allegations of mismanagement.

The municipality set aside money in its budget to fix the facilities and ensure they were habitable.

But shortly after work started, the municipality discovered that the work was not up to scratch and that the contractor had not been briefed properly.

The company returned in February and is continuing the work.

However, councillors said costs incurred so far could not be justified.

Human settlements political head Nqaba Bhanga said he had reported the matter to mayor Athol Trollip, telling him about his concerns over how the money had been spent.

“We are not happy about what we saw in some of the homes. The Adcock Home is beautiful and we want all the homes to look like that,” Bhanga said.

“I have informed the mayor about my concerns that I am not convinced by the work we have seen and the money spent.