State of cemetery is ‘disappointing’
Some of the grave sites are inaccessible due to the long grass
The local cemeteries are not places where residents can go to remember their lost loved ones in an environment of peace and cleanliness.
Instead, it’s quite the opposite…
With reports of homeless people seeking shelter, waist-high grass and evidence of lewd activities, these cemeteries are places that most people would rather avoid.
Last week, a resident contacted the Estcourt News to complain about the state of the Keate Street cemetery, especially the long grass.
“We pay rates and we expect services from the municipality. Some of the residents in Estcourt have taken it upon themselves to clean up the cemetery at their own expense. We can’t go and visit the graves of our loved ones, because the grass is so long. The level of service we get from the municipality is very disappointing,” commented the resident.
Inkosi Langalibalele Local Municipality, during previous correspondence last year, said they were working on a regular maintenance plan for the cemetery, but (according to the resident) this is not evident.
When enquiring about grass/verge trimming from Municipal Manager Sthembiso Mthembu, he said that grass cutting at the cemeteries in Forderville and Keate Street was on the schedule for February 8 and 9.
A visit to the Keate Street cemetery on Sunday (February 12) revealed an incomplete job.
Only a small section of the grass at the Keate Street cemetery had been cut, while weeds continue to thrive in other parts, creeping up headstones and obstructing paths to the gravesites.
Mthembu also listed several areas in and around Estcourt where grass cutting would be attended to. These included parks in Elizabeth Avenue, sport fields in Colita and Forderville, as well as in Weenen.
He did not indicate when these services will be extended to residential areas, where some pathways and sidewalks are choked with overgrown grass that makes them inaccessible.
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