Lack of support for graves concerns cemetery workers
Cemetery staff claims no repairs were made on leaking pipes and water to the facility was shut off.
Embarrassed and deflated, cemetery staff say they are tired of bearing the brunt of angry community members, because of the decaying conditions at the city’s facilities.
Speaking to the Benoni City Times, on the condition of anonymity, cemetery staff employed by the City of Ekurhuleni (CoE) say their team cannot effectively maintain the burial sites spanning over an average of 800ha each.
“We are a team of seven people conducting maintenance work for 10 cemeteries,” said one of the employees.
“These facilities include Rynsoord, Oliver Tambo, Wattville, Styx (Actonville) and cemeteries in Boksburg, Brakpan, Kempton Park and Springs.
“Our team has five brush cutter operators and two gravediggers. There is a lot of continuous work that needs to be done, yet we are only a handful of workers.”
According to staff, it can take up to two weeks to complete grass-cutting duties at a single cemetery.
“Our activities often get interrupted when redeployed to another facility to conduct work,” they said.
“This again leads to backlogs; all never caught up.”
Tugging on a uniform pocket hanging by a thread, one of the CoE employees said they feel embarrassed about the state of municipal cemeteries.
“We arrive at work in uniforms that are tattered. We last received PPE’s in 2023,” they said.
“The equipment is ill-maintained and outdated. We feel we are being set up for failure while the city claims there is no money to assist us in delivering a better service.”
Following an article in the Benoni City Times on November 21, we reported numerous major leaks at the Rynsoord Cemetery not timeously repaired, despite being reported on countless occasions.
At the time, we found to curb the loss of valuable water, cemetery staff resorted to plugging pipes and taps with scrap pieces of metal and branches.
On November 27, CoE spokesperson Zweli Dlamini informed us all leaks at the cemetery had been repaired.
However, during a visit to the facility, on January 29, we found these leaks had not been repaired; however, the main water supply at the facility had been closed.
“We haven’t had water since the beginning of December. We bring water to work to use the bathroom and for drinking,” said one employee.
“It is very frustrating. The city tells the community they do repairs to ensure the maintenance is done, but they are just putting band aids on the problems.”
About dealing with the community, one employee said they realise bereaved individuals may act out of character because of losing a loved one.
“It is traumatic to lose someone to death, and it is even worse when their last resting place is overgrown and untidy,” they said.
“They lash out at us, calling us lazy and incompetent. Comments like these are hurtful, but we understand. We wish they knew how hard we really try.
“We could achieve more and bring dignity to the cemeteries if we received the support from the city.
“Things might change if those in charge were the ones dealing directly with the community.”
When asked for solutions, employees said there should be a dedicated maintenance team servicing each facility on a daily basis.
“Having tools and equipment to properly do our jobs will make a huge difference. With the necessary resources, we could do repairs when required.”
No comment was received from Dlamini at the time of going to print.
Also Read: Boksburg Cemetery in a sorry state
