If you have recently paid a visit to a deceased loved one at the Sterkfontein Cemetery, you may have noticed the overgrown grass and weeds surrounding the graves.
You may also have noticed some overgrown grass in the general public spaces of Krugersdorp on your way there.
According to Democratic Alliance ward councillor and caucus leader, Jacques Hoon, he has kept a close eye on the ward’s environmental maintenance for the past few months, including that of the local cemetery.
Upon a recent visit with Block Ward Committee Representative, Francisca de Souza, he was thrilled to come across municipal workers cleaning up the cemetery. However, he still raised a few points of concern.
“Prior to this cleaning and cutting session, the grass was last cut in November last year, according to my knowledge. For three months, mourners had to endure a neglected cemetery. There had been no effort to maintain the yard whatsoever, and this while the rainy season is speeding up grass growth,” Jacques explained.
With this being said, he added that there is money within the budget allocated to the cemetery. What concerns him is the fact that he hasn’t seen a Service Level Agreement which is supposed to reflect the expectations and routine maintenance required of the contract workers.
“For all I know, the agreement doesn’t even exist. I have asked the Department of Integrated Environment Management for it repeatedly, but to no avail. No contract should be signed without first providing a Service Level Agreement,” Jacques explained.
“Thus they provide the contract workers with room to potentially under-perform and under-deliver, because they don’t have an agreement about what’s expected of them in a certain period of time. Maybe this is why the open spaces and the cemetery are so poorly kept.”
The other possibility, he continued, is that contract workers simply aren’t getting paid by the municipality like they are supposed to. With a budget he refers to as inaccurate and unrealistic, it’s hard to figure out why this department is being neglected.
“The cutting of grass is supposed to be one of the simplest services delivered by the municipality. But when you drive through some of our local streets, you can see it’s one of Mogale City’s most neglected departments,” he said.
He is still in the process of trying to find the origin of the problem, whereafter he aims to find a suitable solution.
Do you perhaps have more information pertaining to this story? Email us at krugersdorpnews@caxton.co.za or phone us on 011 955 1130.I
For free daily local news on the West Rand, also visit our sister websites:
Remember to visit our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages to let your voice be heard!
