Cemetery to be restored again to a place of rest

BARBERTON – There is a well-known saying that goes, “Give credit where it is due” and this is exactly what needs to be done today. Because of the rapid action of the DA in cooperation with Umjindi Municipality, Barberton Cemetery will hopefully be restored to its former glory soon and a place that speaks of respect for the final resting place of many beloved.

On Friday, Barberton Times accompanied reader, Piet Jooste to the cemetery. This was after he had difficulty in reaching his mother’s grave. The largest part of the graveyard has been taken over by shoulder-height weeds and grass.

While there, we encountered two other parties as well. They were also experiencing enormous difficulty to visit the graves of their loved ones. One of these parties, comprising three brothers, came all the way from Gauteng and was trying to clean the area around the grave of their father with garden tools.

The first time the paper visited the graveyard was a year ago when a stolen motorbike was recovered in the tall grass. It appeared as if not much, if anything, has been done since, to clean up this last resting place of many people who were dear to their families.

This current state of affairs makes it a perfect place for criminals to hide stolen goods or even use it as a hideout.
Barberton Times approached Cllr Philip Minnaar of the DA whom in turn contacted the director of community services, Comfort Makhanya.

Makhanya explained the difficulty they had with broken equipment.

However, good news is that within the hour he visited the graveyard with Minnaar and committed to start a huge clean-up campaign immediately.