Tombstone desecration blamed on muni
The residents said several requests to get the cemetery fenced had fallen on deaf ears.
Dan Mdluli
LIMPOPO -Residents of Ngwalemong village in Sekhukhune have accused the Ephraim Mogale Municipality of stalling when it comes to fencing the area’s graveyard.
The residents said several requests to get the cemetery fenced had fallen on deaf ears. This, according to villagers, resulted in tombstones being exposed to damage.
According to December Mokomane (34), a community leader, the municipality promised to fence the cemetery in April this year.
“We were promised fencing would start in April this year. Nothing has been done. They don’t even bother to give feedback on the development. We have been waiting for over a month to get a report from them,” Mokomane said. Ezekiel Ranala (36), whose aunt’s tombstone was destroyed by livestock, said the situation affected them badly because her aunt’s family were all unemployed and did not know how they would replace it.
“The tombstone cost the family R6 500 to erect. Now livestock destroyed it because of a lack of fencing. As a community, we would have reinstalled the wire fence which was removed when they promised us to fence properly in April. These destructions could have been prevented if we were not promised lies,” Ranala added.
Jan Phasha, municipal spokesperson, said there were procurement processes being followed before projects were rolled out in communities. Phasha added the fencing of cemeteries remained the municipality’s commitment and those communities on the list that needed the fencing of their cemeteries will soon be attended to.
