The Sunday News
Robin Muchetu Senior Reporter
VICE-PRESIDENT Phelekezela Mphoko’s wife, Laurinda, yesterday made a huge donation of various food stuffs and toiletries to Ekuphumuleni Geriatric Home in Mzilikazi suburb which houses about 45 aged people. The consignment which included flour, mealie-meal, rice, cooking oil, sugar, dish washer, handy andy detergent, salt, soap, salad cream and tissue paper was received by the founder of the home, Mrs Polyanna Mahlangu who was elated about the donation.
Mrs Mphoko, who was in the company of her husband and their son Siqokoqela, said the donation was a small expression of assistance to the home and pledged to do more.
“This is a small gift that we have brought here to assist the aged people who are taken care of here and we do pledge to continue doing this so that we ensure that the people are comfortable. I hope the Lord will give us more days and resources to do more of this,” she said.
Mrs Mahlangu said she was grateful for the donation and also took time to tell the VP and his family of some of the challenges the home is facing.
“We have a $72 000 bill that is owed to Zesa, the city council and TelOne and we have no clue of how we will offset this as it has been growing since 2012. This was also exacerbated by the ceasing of the bed subsidiary that we used to receive from the Ministry of Health and Child Care,” she said.
According to Mrs Mahlangu, the Health Ministry at one point would pay a bed subsidiary each month to the home and they used that to cater for some of their needs.
She also revealed that they have a pending salary debt of $9 000 for their workers who have not been paid for the past five months.
Ekuphumuleni Geriatric Home was allocated a piece of land along airport road but they have failed to make use of it as they have no funding to sink boreholes or even develop the land.
“Our fear is that the land may be repossessed if we fail to make any productive work on it and we cannot lose land just like that,” said Mrs Mahlangu.
Mrs Mahlangu thanked the Mphokos for the donation and said it will ease the challenge of feeding inmates.
