Illegal burials brought on by non-payment

VRYHEID Cemetery has long been plagued with drama surrounding the maintenance and upkeep of the municipal owned land.

The latest in a string of events which have left workers scratching their heads in bewilderment, is the administrative blunder which has led to illegal burials taking place, due to the lack of burial permits.

Groundskeeper, Bertie Slabbert, reported that funerals taking place were being carried out illegally, as no burial permits have been issued since July 2. Slabbert stated that he reported that his burial permit book had run out and an order for the replacement books was placed with Vryheid Printers.

According to Slabbert, the previous batch of burial permit books, which was ordered in October last year, had not yet been paid for by AbaQulusi Municipality and the printing company could therefore not release the new batch until payment had been received.

Reporting to his supervisor, Slabbert was allegedly instructed to continue with his work at the cemetery and a plan was to be made to rectify the matter.

To date, no plan has been made, but people die and people need to be buried, so the show, it appears, must go on as non-payment to local businesses by AbaQulusi Municipality remains the norm, regardless of the negative impact on local business and infrastructure.

Caretaker for the Department of Community Services, Robert Khumalo, despite being unaware of the current situation with the burial permit books, encourages the community to come forward and report any matter that may hinder the municipality from delivering the services and duties expected of them.

“We have sent statements to the municipality every month, but still no payment has been received,” responded management at Vryheid Printers

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