Clr Haseena Ismail (Ward 29) has been fighting for general maintenance to improve at the Styx Road Cemetery for years.
READ: Trees emerge from graves
In 2014, the then Proportional Representative (PR) councillor brought the matter to the City Times’ attention.
Since then, trees and shrubs have been growing out of the graves, and now, the ward councillor is upset by the latest incident.
READ: No improvement to Styx Road Cemetery
When the City Times visited the burial site on April 20, Ismail pointed out an area where rubbish had been burnt the day before.
The burnt mess appeared to have been strewn over at least two graves.
When the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality (EMM) was asked if they were responsible, spokesperson Themba Gadebe said: “The cemetery staff burnt the rubble that was dumped by the community.
The reason to burn the rubble was also motivated by the fact that the community dumps sanitary pads and there was toilet paper with human faeces. That exposes our workers to all kinds of disease due to the negligence of the community when it comes to waste disposal.”
The councillor said the act is disgusting.
“These are our loved ones, but nobody seems to care,” she said.
“This is unacceptable to me.”
Ismail said illegal dumping is a problem in many Actonville areas.
She said she asked the EMM to secure the cemetery’s perimeter fence, to curb illegal dumping.
Ismail said this afternoon (April 24) that the metro removed the burnt mess.
Follow us on these platforms:
Like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter.
For news straight to your phone invite us:
WhatsApp: 079 431 1217
Instagram: benonicitytimes.co.za
