Family prevented from erecting a head tombstone
The head stone is paid for and ready to be erected but the metro officials is preventing that.
A Mamelodi family has been forced to hold back a tombstone unveiling because the Tshwane metro has yet to pour the concrete slab on which the headstones are to be erected.
The Kolobe family in Mamelodi east section SNS said they saved for months to erect and unveil the three tombstones at the Heatherly cemetery in Nellmapius.
Johanna Makgatla said the family planned to unveil the headstones for her two late brothers and her mother in October.
She said two tombstones have already been erected.
The family buried their mother last year around May at the cemetery and it was time they honoured her by marking her final resting place.
“We were told they will confiscate the headstones and fine us,” said Johanna.
The family said they were unable to postpone the unveiling because the invitations have already been sent out.
“The headstone is paid for and ready to be erected, but we have been prevented by the metro with its empty promises since June,” she said.
The family said a metro official told them that their financial year ends in June and from mid-June to the end of July, very little happened at the metro.
She further said the family will now start some work in August.
“How long should we wait for Tshwane to pour the concrete slab lines?”
“The date for the unveiling is around the corner and we don’t have a straight answer on when they are going to pour the slabs.”
Metro spokesperson Lindela Mashigo said the metro acknowledged the backlog in the provision of berm strips (concrete slab lines) at the cemetery which impacts the erection of headstones.
“This, in turn, affects planned unveiling ceremonies in various communities in the region,” he said.
He said the City has already advertised a tender for the construction of berm strips and hoped this will be finalised in the next few months.
“Given the sensitivity of the matter, in the interim, the City is currently looking into utilising internal resources to assist with the backlog until the tender is awarded,” said Mashigo.
The family said their tradition dictated that the tombstones should be erected a year after the loved one was buried, but the metro was preventing them from doing so.
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