The Rhosarian 2021

The Rhosarian 1/21 MSASA MAIL
October 2021
8
PRESTON, Basil Roy passed away on
25 July 2021 from Covid complications.
He will be sorely missed by his wife
Mary, son Douglas, daughter Desray and
grandsons Luca and Nicolas.
STILFONTEIN HOMES
Victoria House, Stilfontein, May 2019
The National Managing Committee
of the Flame Lily Foundation has handed
over management of the four properties in
Stilfontein to RASA Pretoria and I have
been asked to manage them.
There were originally five properties
but in August this year the house with
two flats at 30 Godwin Street was sold to
raise funds to sustain the four remaining
houses (eight flats). Municipal charges for
utilities have escalated over the last few
years and it is now proving very difficult to
provide quality accommodation to people
with a very low income. Rents are based
on declared income and include water and
electricity. The net cost of maintaining the
five properties in the past financial year
amounted to R121,000.
The four remaining houses in Athlone
Drive and Van Zyl Street, each containing
two flats, are interlinked internally, enabling
tenants to mingle freely if they wish
without going into the street. Fortunately,
there has not been much serious crime in
the area so the street-side fences and walls
serve mainly to keep dogs in or out.
Stilfontein has very cold winters and
low rainfall so the gardens are dry at
this time of the year and looking very
barren. Unfortunately we cannot afford
to use a lot of water to make them look
better, although some tenantsW are able
to work wonders with the few resources
available to bring colour around their
houses with pot plants and small flower
beds.
The present seven tenants appear to
be happy with their circumstances and
are also concerned about rising costs.
We have recently been forced to issue
new leases and increase rentals, where
possible, to reduce our subsidies.
Maintenance to the buildings is
another issue that is starting to need
attention. Barge boards and facias need
repair and paint and many other small
things need a handyman to spend some
time to sort them out.
Skatie Fourie, who is the resident
caretaker, is able to fix a lot of the small
things like toilet cisterns and door locks
and he manages the gardener very well.
They have worked on each yard to clear
and tidy the beds. The gardens, inspite of
no rains, are neat and tidy.
Skatie has started cleaning out a
vacant flat that is in bad condition, with
a view to refurbishing it for a future
tenant.
John and Mary Redfern used to visit
Stilfontein about every three months, but
Covid-19 made this impossible during
2020. Now that inter-province travel is
permitted, Speros Blismas and I plan to
resume regular visits to Stilfontein.
Lawrie Marshall
16 October 2021