There has been no progress at the Greenhills cemetery since the herald last reported on its condition in May of this year – if anything, it has gotten worse.
The walls built around the cemetery, two years ago, have already been damaged by falling trees and there doesn’t seem to be any attempt to fix or patch them and now there are big gaps where wrong goers can gain access.
The dirt roads used to get to all the various grave sites are in a terrible condition and people without 4x4s have to walk very far to get to their loved one’s grave. The grass does appear to have been cut in some areas recently but most of the graves are overgrown with weeds and grass.
There is also broken glass and rubbish littered all through the cemetery. Gravestones have fallen over and at some graves are completely missing or vandalized.
Amanda van Zyl’s father, Shorty Coetzer, was buried in the cemetery in 2010. He loved Randfontein and visited often and even requested that he be buried in the Greenhills cemetery to always be close to his daughter.
“He really did love Randfontein and this close knit community and that was why he chose the cemetery as his final resting place. I truly believe he would have been very disappointed with the awful dilapidated conditions now.” van Zyl said.
The herald visited the cemetery on Monday and could not spot even one worker busy on the grounds.
“There are people being paid to do the maintenance of the cemetery, but where are they? The municipality is quick to fix things just before the elections but then they simply forget to maintain them,” van Zyl said.
There have been numerous promises made by the Municipality to maintain the site, which begs to ask the question; what is maintenance defined as in their books?
The municipality has been asked for comment on the matter and the herald will publish their response as soon as received.
