Some progress made at Redhill Cemetery

THERE has been some progress made at the Redhill Cemetery following an announcement by the City about intensifying clean-up operations at cemeteries across Durban. For years, residents have raised concerns about several issues at the cemetery, including damaged sections of the cemetery’s fence line which posed a security concern.

The Mvoti Neighbourhood Watch had discovered that criminals were using the gaps in the fences to escape through or to hide stolen loot (particularly on Ryde Place).

City’s Parks, Leisure and Cemeteries Unit, Sibusiso Mkhwanazi last week said the unit’s duties include pruning of trees, removing rubble, mending as well as replacing broken fences in cemetery facilities.

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“We have since intensified such operations because we want to ensure that our cemeteries are in a neat and acceptable state at all times,” said Mkhwanazi.

While some residents remain skeptical about the City’s commitment, local resident, David Williams, said he has seen a difference with regards to pruning, fence repairs and grass cutting.

“As a neighbourhood watch member I’ve had ongoing interactions with the management of the cemetery. There has been a change in the cemetery keeper duties and that’s made a big difference because she has been more receptive to the problems facing the cemetery. When we spoke she told me she had undertaken to replace the damaged sections of wall on Girvan Avenue. Particularly the upper half of the fence line where sections were broken or had collapsed have been replaced. Repairs have also been carried out on the fence that runs along Ryde Place where illegal dumping occurs,” he said.

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Williams said the new cemetery keeper had also undertaken a project to replace the razor wire which topped the cemetery’s fence line.

While he welcomed the changes at the cemetery he added two other issues needed addressing. The first was the continuation of live ammunition being used at the cemetery for burials and the continued growth in alien invasive plants at the northern end of the cemetery.

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