Garsfontein cemetery a ‘disgrace’
Local residents complain that the cemetery has turned into a “shebeen and a bathroom”.
Residents complain that the Garsfontein cemetery on Welbekend Road has over the years been plagued by crime, violence, naked bathing and uncut grass.
“I am disappointed to see that the cemetery in such an untidy state,” local resident Nannie Lombard told Rekord.
Lombard, who buried her father on Monday at the cemetery, said she was unhappy with the uncut grass, the leaking pipes and the poor maintenance.
“The pipes are leaking and the grass is uncut – it looks horrible. It’s a season for snakes and we could easily get bitten by snakes,” she said.
“Where is the dignity in that?”
“The gravediggers have a difficult task when they have to cope with such long grass.”
Lombard, who lost her father a week ago, said grieving families had to deal with their loss all while having to fight with the municipality to deliver services.
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“On top of the pain we are going through, we still need to get the municipality to do their job.”
Her father was hit by a car in December and was hospitalised in January. He succumbed to his injuries on Monday 17 February.
“The least we could do is have a dignified funeral for him and be able to visit his grave afterwards.”
Local residents complain that the cemetery has turned into a “shebeen and a bathroom”.
They claimed the graveyard has become a spot for people to drink alcohol and socialise while relaxing on the graves.
People from the nearby Cemetery View informal settlement were said to be bathing at the cemetery while funerals were in progress.
Lombard, who also witnessed people bathing and doing laundry at the cemetery, said it was difficult to visit her grandson’s grave which was also at in the area, as she felt unsafe because of the people loitering at the cemetery.
“I can’t even take my granddaughter to her brother’s grave, I don’t want her to see this.”
“How are we ever supposed to visit our love ones,” she said.
Another resident, Jana Sane, said she had completely given up on visiting her husband’s grave.
The mother of two said she would have wished to bring her children to see their father’s grave, but was too scared to take them there.
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“I wish I had not buried him there – but where else could we have buried him?”
“Something needs to be done.”
She said more security was needed to safeguard the cemeteries.
Tshwane metro spokesperson Lindela Mashigo said the grass at the cemetery was cut, but due to regular heavy rains the grass grows quicker than expected.
“The grass was cut in November, December as well as January. The February cut is in progress,” he said.
“According to horticultural specification, the time frames to cut must be after 14 to 21 days to avoid damaging the lawn since it’s a manicured lawn. For veld grass, it must be after 21 days to a month.”
He said monthly cuts were performed as per schedule.
Mashigo said the water leaks in the area were from different pipes within the cemetery, which were due to vandalism by vagrants living nearby the cemetery.
“As a result most taps towards the southern side of the cemetery have been permanently closed to prevent vandalism.”
Leaks are repaired within hours or a day once they are reported.
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