Outcry over poor upkeep of Boksburg Cemetery
Locals are calling upon the mayor of Ekurhuleni to intervene.
The Advertiser has been inundated with a series of complaints from readers who are appalled at the “terrible” state of Boksburg Cemetery, where overgrown grass and vegetation have rendered the site difficult to access.
Residents claimed they have on numerous occasions tried to get the metro to attend to the problem, but to no avail.
Following these complaints, the Advertiser visited the cemetery and was greeted by the dire state of the property.
The grass, weeds and vegetation have grown tall and have turned the area into a jungle of some sort.
The cemetery is also littered with rubbish. Some sections of the perimeter fence have been vandalised, and there were no security personnel seen on-site during the visit.
One of the complainants, a woman who identified herself as Mrs Langdon, said she travelled to Boksburg to visit her family member’s grave. She was left heartbroken to find the cemetery in such a mess, due to lack of maintenance.
“The grass has grown so tall that it makes it difficult to access the cemetery, let alone to locate the graves. I can’t understand why the municipality would let a cemetery get into this awful state.”
A teacher at Goedehoop Primary School, who asked to remain anonymous, said she recently visited the cemetery and was shocked by how badly maintained it is.
“It’s heartbreaking to see the graves at Boksburg Cemetery overgrown and negelected.”
The teacher said her horrible ordeal of seeing people’s resting place in that condition left her upset and shocked.
Locals called upon the mayor of Ekurhuleni to intervene.
The Advertiser reached out to the metro for comment, but no response has been received at the time of compiling this report.
However, the MMC of Environment and Waste Management, Andre du Plessis, told the Advertiser that he will be visiting the cemetery in question to assess the situation.
The Advertiser will accompany the MMC on the oversite visit. This is a developing story.
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