Weeds, tall grass and a general state of decay await you when you visit any of the city’s local cemeteries.
Benoni residents have expressed their frustration with the City of Ekurhuleni’s (CoE) ongoing inability to maintain cemeteries, stating that the overall state is heartbreaking to families who wish to pay their respects to loved ones.
According to Zweli Dlamini, spokesperson for the CoE, the schedule for grass-cutting and maintenance is performed regularly subject to budget availability.
“Contractors previously undertook the work; however, municipal staff are performing the additional services,” he said.
“We are hoping to establish a monthly rotation until the requisite for resources become available. There are budgetary constraints, which have severely restricted operations.”
He added that the city’s local cemeteries have recently been serviced.
Many readers responded at the overgrowth not only posing a risk of injury but also being a safety risk.
“Overgrowth at any facility or open space represents security challenges to users and care should be taken at all times to remain safe,” he said.
What our Facebook readers say:
Jaco Gates: The state of our cemeteries is shocking to say the least. We buried my wife in 2020. The graves were not in line at all, it was as if no care or pride was taken in preparing the graves. It is not done like it used to be done. It looks like a wild unkempt field and not a cemetery at all. There is no respect for the dead (and their families).
Liz Barnard: We do not go anymore, it’s not safe.
Razia Ebrahim: Took my equipment and cleaned around mom’s grave. EMM have no respect! Next, we will dig graves too! Cos ‘they’ cannot!
Sharol Naidoo: A state of total neglect. With the immense heartache that many families have had to endure, it is disheartening to see that the municipality has failed to create a safe and clean space within which families could grieve and mourn the loss of their loved ones. Having lost my mum and sister in July last year, the cemetery should be a place of peace and remembrance. Unfortunately, one has to endure overgrown grass, no visible pathways, graves are overgrown with weeds and ditches that pose a risk of injury.
Dylan Veneman: Employ me, pay me a great salary and we’ll have a neat area for our loved ones to rest peacefully.
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