MOSSEL BAY NEWS - The Mossel Bay Advertiser has received a number of complaints about a woman taking care of mothers and their children at a premises in town.

Four different women complained to two NPOs, which then came to the Advertiser with their complaints. The four women had written affidavits which they gave to one NPO and one of the four complained to a second NPO.

One of the two NPOs has also received queries from members of the public, asking if the owner is authorised to house women and children. They contacted the NPO to ask questions about the organisation after the owner had asked them for donations.

The NPOs which came to the Advertiser with the complaints are respected in town.

Allegations

The allegations include:

• Children at the premises engage in sexual activity with one another. The Family, Child and Sexual Offences Unit of the police confirmed to the Mossel Bay Advertiser it is investigating this case. The owner told the Advertiser she had difficulty evicting a mother and her two children, who were to blame for this, from the premises. She had tried her best to evict them, she said.
• Housing women and their children in what used to be offices, unsuitable for residential use, thus contravening municipal by-laws. The premises consists of a house on the street front, with offices behind it. The landlord of the premises said: "The relevant authorities should investigate these claims."
• The Advertiser approached the Mossel Bay Municipality for comment regarding this allegation. Municipal director Carel Venter said: "Vanuit 'n Boubeheer en Stadsbeplanning oogpunt word hierdie geval op dieselfde wyse hanteer as enige ander klagtes ontvang. Die nodige terrein inspeksies word gedoen en toepaslike optrede volg sou daar oortredings wees. Die betrokke amptenare is besig met die saak."
• Pills are being handed out indiscriminately to mothers if they are emotionally distressed and to unruly children to help them sleep at night. On enquiry from the Advertiser the owner said only a schizophrenic who needed medication used such tablets at the premises.

Donations

• Mothers and children being made to walk the streets with an "official-looking, stamped form" to collect donations. They are then given a percentage of the donations by the owner. In response to the Advertiser's enquiry, the owner said this only took place once, for children to collect money to buy pizzas for a pyjama party at the premises and that the children were not sent out alone. They were accompanied.
• The owner of the charity then has her hair done, eyebrows tinted and a massage with the donations. The owner refuted this allegation.
• Mothers are forced to peel and chop large amounts of donated vegetables for freezing. The owner said this work was not ongoing and was only done by one woman at the premises, because she did not work. It was not a general requirement. The owner said this woman had criticised her and her charity widely and had thereby caused great damage to the charity.
• Asking R3 000 per month for accommodation from a mother and offering the services of a therapist and transport to school and sports for the children, but not delivering on this.

The owner refuted this, saying she did indeed help people. She had been operating for four years and had helped 23 children and 11 mothers, "working very hard, with little help". She pointed out that she paid R18 000 in rent each month.

The woman said she was "hurt, disappointed and broken" by the allegations. She said only two women had complained about her to one NPO in town and she knew who the two women were. She forwarded the Advertiser a voicenote from a mother she had helped and material from the charity's sites online and a video to demonstrate how she is helping people. She also forwarded the Advertiser a cellphone number of a counsellor the charity uses.

Complaints

About a year ago the Mossel Bay Advertiser received a complaint about the charity's promoting itself as "children's hostel accommodation" and two years before that, another complaint that the owner was enriching herself and her immediate family with donations meant for the charity's beneficiaries.

Charity organisations such as the one in question can be investigated by the Department of Social Development, should the department deem it necessary.

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