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IOL News
21-07-2025
- General
- IOL News
Mandela Day: Old age home thanks Big Save, Pretoria News for making 'big, big difference'
On Mandela Day, Pretoria News and Big Save joined forces to uplift the elderly residents of Mamelodi Old Age Home, donating food hampers and spreading kindness in honour of Nelson Mandela's legacy. The leadership of Pretoria News and Big Save believe that everyone deserves a good life and that every act of kindness – big or small – counts during this Mandela Month and beyond. The two brands, both rooted in the communities they serve in the Tshwane region, demonstrated this when they joined hands to celebrate this year's International Nelson Mandela Day on Friday with the residents of the Mamelodi Old Age Home in Mamelodi East, Pretoria. Pretoria News and retail partner Big Save donated 67 food hampers to the old age home. The outreach function on Friday was a heartfelt gesture to honour the late former president. Mandela Day, commemorated annually on July 18, encourages South Africans and the world to dedicate their time to acts of kindness, reflecting on Mandela's 67 years of service to the nation. In that spirit, Pretoria News and Big Save stepped in with practical support offering not only food but dignity and care to senior citizens often overlooked. The Mamelodi Old Age Home houses 56 elderly residents aged 60 and above, many of whom rely on limited government grants and small family contributions to make ends meet. The 67 food parcels were each packed with 12.5kg maize meal, samp, salt, sugar, tea, and Kellogg's Corn Flakes will go a long way in easing their burdens.
IOL News
24-04-2025
- IOL News
City of Tshwane's ongoing struggle with Melgisedek buildings: A decade of neglect
Residents of dilapidated Melgisedek buildings in Riviera are still waiting for the City of Tshwane to relocate them. Image: Oupa Mokoena/Independent Newspapers Nearly a decade after the City of Tshwane deemed the Melgisedek buildings in Riviera unfit for habitation and had planned to relocate occupants, people still live there illegally. The buildings continue to deteriorate, with locals complaining they are a haven for crime and drug infestation, making them uninhabitable. In 2015, when the city condemned the buildings, concerns arose about rescuing the thousands of residents. The city announced plans to audit the residents and develop a relocation strategy. A crèche was closed and informal traders were ordered to leave, but the traders have since returned. A year after the buildings were deemed unsafe, the Pretoria News reported that the city formed a task team to assess the buildings' condition, structural integrity, and residents' social circumstances. The team's mandate was later expanded to investigate other potentially dilapidated or illegally occupied city properties. However, it transpired this week that the city is still exploring options to rehabilitate Melgisedek and convert it into student accommodation, a proposal that originated from the previous DA-led administration. Meanwhile, the buildings continue to deteriorate, being surrounded by a foul odor, mosquitoes, and flies. A nauseating mixture of water and human waste flows through the area. Toilets have been converted into makeshift homes, leaving residents without proper ablution facilities. Some relieve themselves behind the buildings, while others use toilets at nearby shopping centers or petrol stations. Former DA MMC Kingsley Wakelin, now an MPL, had pledged to address hijacked and illegally occupied buildings in Pretoria's CBD, with Melgisedek prioritised under the Tshwane Sustainable and Better Buildings programme, aimed at regenerating the inner-city. This week, MMC for Shared and Corporate Services, Kholofelo Morodi, said the city is still moving forward with plans to develop Melgisedek into student accommodation. 'As part of the Bad Buildings programme, the city has met with the University of Pretoria to explore collaboration and partnerships and the Melgiesedek is part of this process,' she said. She cited illegal occupation by vulnerable groups, including women, children, and the elderly, as a major reason for the delay in developing Melgisedek. She said the exact number of occupants wasn't known, but estimates suggested between 400 to 500 people were living on the property. She also cited the property's current zoning as educational as a development constraint, limiting potential opportunities for the building. 'During the State of the Capital Address, the Executive Mayor announced that the City is undertaking several land preparation measures on earmarked strategic properties,' she said. Despite previous commitments to relocate the inhabitants, Morodi said measures are underway to clear the property, including identifying suitable alternative accommodation for the occupants. She said rezoning the property is necessary to secure a broader range of development rights before putting it on the market.
