Two years ago Buffalo City Metro (BCM) allocated R12-million for the development and upgrading of its 35 formal cemeteries.
However, two years later, little has changed for the better.
Cemeteries have become a playground for criminals and entrances bear official BCM warning signs on the dangers that lurk among the unkempt trees and overgrown grass.
The lack of security at some cemeteries has seen cows grazing on the open land, waste being dumped and headstones being vandalised.
There are another 165 or so informal graveyards, mostly in the rural areas of BCM. It is unclear how they are administered.
The Dispatch last week visited eight formal cemeteries – Mtsotso in Mdantsane, Lujiza in Duncan Village, the Cambridge cemetery, East Bank behind Eastern Beach, Haven Hills, Buffalo Flats, West Bank and the cemetery in Zwelitsha’s Zone 10.
Of these, only West Bank cemetery appeared to be well-kept, with the grass cut and the gate locked.
The rest were in a shocking state of neglect.
Even BCM tacitly acknowledges their deterioration: at the entry of these final and supposedly sacred resting places, an unnamed BCM “manager of cemeteries” has erected warning signs which state: “The general public are warned to exercise caution whilst visiting the cemetery. BCM, their agents or employees will not be held liable for any loss, theft or damage to persons or property of those visiting the cemetery. By order, Manager Cemeteries” (in capital letters).
At the Mtsotso cemetery, the only indication that people are buried beneath the dense bushes are a few headstones peeping through shoulder-high grass.
In 2013, when the Dispatch reported on the dire state of Mtsotso, BCM spokesman Thandy Matebese said that when the metro inherited the cemetery from the “previous administration” it was in a “terrible state”.
It was clear there had been no capital investment, said Matebese.
“It is during the era of BCM that a commitment was made to change the face of the cemetery.
“The change will include fencing and construction of roads inside the premises, but bush clearing was not sustained due to a lack of resources,” Matebese said at the time.
However, Matebese did not respond to queries from the Daily Dispatch last week.
In Zwelitsha’s Zone 10 cemetery, cows were seen grazing and the graves are dotted with dung.
Resident Miriam Mvelashe said the gate was gone and livestock were using the cemetery as a grazing ground.
“It is a disgrace; there is no dignity for the dead,” said Mvelashe.
A spate of muggings at the Cambridge cemetery has seen visitors requesting police escort.
In January, Willemiena Heyns, 70, was accosted by two men who stabbed her and robbed her of her pension cash, a cellphone, handbag and car keys, which they used to rifle through possessions in the car.
Heyns, who was there to put flowers on her late son’s grave, said: “The grass was too long. I did not see them coming.”
Police spokesman Captain Mluleki Mbi said after a “high number” of robberies were reported at the cemetery they offered to escort visitors.
Two months after the attack on Heyns, Tracy Bezuidenhout, who wanted to lay flowers on her late father’s grave on March 1, was prevented from doing so by the long grass.
“I could not get to his grave,” said Bezuidenhout.
Funeral directors have also voiced their concerns, wondering why the cost of using BCM graveyards is so high when they are so dirty, unkempt and dangerous.
They were speaking at a conference held late last year.
“We see families paying more than R60000 for a tombstone, but imagine leaving that memorial stone there without security. It is bound to be stolen or vandalised,” said South African Funeral Practitioners Association Eastern Cape president Sabelo Capa.
Questions were sent to BCM on Wednesday, but Matebese said he was still waiting for answers from the cemetery department. — arethal@dispatch.co.za
BCM cemeteries in disgraceful state
However, two years later, little has changed for the better.
Cemeteries have become a playground for criminals and entrances bear official BCM warning signs on the dangers that lurk among the unkempt trees and overgrown grass.
The lack of security at some cemeteries has seen cows grazing on the open land, waste being dumped and headstones being vandalised.
There are another 165 or so informal graveyards, mostly in the rural areas of BCM. It is unclear how they are administered.
The Dispatch last week visited eight formal cemeteries – Mtsotso in Mdantsane, Lujiza in Duncan Village, the Cambridge cemetery, East Bank behind Eastern Beach, Haven Hills, Buffalo Flats, West Bank and the cemetery in Zwelitsha’s Zone 10.
Of these, only West Bank cemetery appeared to be well-kept, with the grass cut and the gate locked.
The rest were in a shocking state of neglect.
Even BCM tacitly acknowledges their deterioration: at the entry of these final and supposedly sacred resting places, an unnamed BCM “manager of cemeteries” has erected warning signs which state: “The general public are warned to exercise caution whilst visiting the cemetery. BCM, their agents or employees will not be held liable for any loss, theft or damage to persons or property of those visiting the cemetery. By order, Manager Cemeteries” (in capital letters).
At the Mtsotso cemetery, the only indication that people are buried beneath the dense bushes are a few headstones peeping through shoulder-high grass.
In 2013, when the Dispatch reported on the dire state of Mtsotso, BCM spokesman Thandy Matebese said that when the metro inherited the cemetery from the “previous administration” it was in a “terrible state”.
It was clear there had been no capital investment, said Matebese.
“It is during the era of BCM that a commitment was made to change the face of the cemetery.
“The change will include fencing and construction of roads inside the premises, but bush clearing was not sustained due to a lack of resources,” Matebese said at the time.
However, Matebese did not respond to queries from the Daily Dispatch last week.
In Zwelitsha’s Zone 10 cemetery, cows were seen grazing and the graves are dotted with dung.
Resident Miriam Mvelashe said the gate was gone and livestock were using the cemetery as a grazing ground.
“It is a disgrace; there is no dignity for the dead,” said Mvelashe.
A spate of muggings at the Cambridge cemetery has seen visitors requesting police escort.
In January, Willemiena Heyns, 70, was accosted by two men who stabbed her and robbed her of her pension cash, a cellphone, handbag and car keys, which they used to rifle through possessions in the car.
Heyns, who was there to put flowers on her late son’s grave, said: “The grass was too long. I did not see them coming.”
Police spokesman Captain Mluleki Mbi said after a “high number” of robberies were reported at the cemetery they offered to escort visitors.
Two months after the attack on Heyns, Tracy Bezuidenhout, who wanted to lay flowers on her late father’s grave on March 1, was prevented from doing so by the long grass.
“I could not get to his grave,” said Bezuidenhout.
Funeral directors have also voiced their concerns, wondering why the cost of using BCM graveyards is so high when they are so dirty, unkempt and dangerous.
They were speaking at a conference held late last year.
“We see families paying more than R60000 for a tombstone, but imagine leaving that memorial stone there without security. It is bound to be stolen or vandalised,” said South African Funeral Practitioners Association Eastern Cape president Sabelo Capa.
Questions were sent to BCM on Wednesday, but Matebese said he was still waiting for answers from the cemetery department. — arethal@dispatch.co.za
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