The tender to construct berm strips at Heatherley Cemetery in Nellmapius has been awarded, and service providers appointed.

Tshwane metro spokesperson Lindela Mashigo said the construction will be done in phases according to available resources, beginning with the backlog.

This follows Mamelodi families being left in the lurch for three years, being told they could not erect tombstones for their loved ones because new berm strips had to be built.

Many families from Mamelodi and Nellmapius claimed 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.

Sibongile Mkhize from Mamelodi said her family has two tombstones they need to unveil, but they are scared that once they erect the headstones, the metro will confiscate them.

“The appointment of a new contractor process took time. Due processes had to be followed as per the Municipal Finance Management Act,” said Mashigo.

Mashigo further said the community is encouraged to familiarise themselves with the necessary rules surrounding the construction of gravestones, as many do not comply and create challenges with maintenance and encroachment of other burial plots at the cemeteries.

Mkhize said some other families have decided to erect the headstones without the metro’s permission, and have held their unveiling ceremonies.

Mkhize’s family wants to know how long they should wait for the metro to pour the concrete slab or if they should go ahead and erect the tombstones like other families, saying, “The headstones are very expensive and it took us months to pay for the two.”

In 2022, the Shabangu family was forced to go ahead with their unveiling ceremony despite their being no concrete support for the headstones because they could not postpone the invitations that had already been sent out.

Eric Shabangu said they had already bought everything for the ceremony, from food to liquor and the tombstones were already paid for.

“The unveiling ceremony was around the corner and all our expenses would go down the drain, especially the food, because we invited a lot of people,” he said.

He said it is very expensive to host an unveiling ceremony, because in most families, they unveil more than one tombstone.

Bongaan Ramontja from The Soil of Africa Civic Movement expresses deep concern and disappointment over the continued neglect of Heatherly Cemetery in Nellmapius, where families have been denied the right to properly honour their loved ones for years.

Ramontja blamed the metro for failing to appoint a contractor to pour the concrete slabs necessary for the erection of headstones.

“We have received numerous complaints from grieving families, prevented from erecting tombstones for their loved ones,” said Ramontja.

He said it is unacceptable that for more than three years, the Tshwane Metro has not appointed a contractor to pour the necessary concrete.

“Families have been barred from erecting headstones and even threatened when attempting to do so themselves. This is not just administrative failure – it is emotional cruelty to the people who are already mourning.”

“The metro needs to act in accordance with its own Cemetery and Crematorium Policy. [It] clearly outlines that the Tshwane Metro must ensure all burial grounds are maintained in a safe, clean, and dignified condition, with fair and accessible processes for the erection of headstones and memorial structures,” he said.

“The continued inaction violates both the spirit and letter of this policy – and undermines the dignity of the dead and the emotional well-being of the living.”

Ramontja added that the dead deserve respect.

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