Graves collapsing and filling with water, others vandalised or stripped by thieves.
Undertakers and mourners robbed while burying the dead or visiting cemeteries to put flowers on the graves of family and friends.
The lack of respect for the final resting places of loved ones in Nelson Mandela Bay is beyond shameful.
No-one who has lost a family member wants to go to the cemetery only to find the headstone and other fixtures missing, destroyed or lying on the ground, sinking graves and, in some cases, no access to certain sections due to flooding problems.
Her son’s water-filled grave is causing sleepless nights for one grieving mother, for whom the pain of losing him has been compounded by the trauma of what is happening at his burial site.
Meanwhile, a wall of remembrance at a Kariega cemetery has been reduced to rubble, headstones have been knocked over or broken, and gaping holes have been smashed in some of the concrete and marble grave tops.
At another cemetery in the town, the graves in a new section are sinking.
And in Geberha, at some cemeteries, graves are sinking and headstones toppling over due to the rising groundwater and suspected unsuitable soil.
Heartless criminals also prey on those visiting the cemeteries and vandals wantonly destroy what should be sacred.
Funeral industry experts have attributed the problem of sinking and water-filled graves to the lack of proper assessments being done before new sections are demarcated for burials.
“There is no proper control for cemeteries and that is a regulatory matter that needs to be addressed with Salga, which we have advised,” one said.
“There are no proper environmental impact assessments being done and those are absolutely crucial in the development of cemeteries.
“Cemeteries must have proper drainage because the ground needs to be adequate to absorb water and not contaminate our underground water.”
He also said the soil might not be suitable for graves.
Whatever the issues, this is something that needs to be addressed by the municipality with urgency.
As does the issue of security.
No-one who has just lost a child, parent or other family member should have to suffer the further trauma of being met by a gaping, water-filled hole when visiting the final resting place of a loved one or the wanton destruction by vandals of the fixtures.
HeraldLIVE
Disgraceful state of cemeteries needs urgent attention
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Image: Werner Hills
Graves collapsing and filling with water, others vandalised or stripped by thieves.
Undertakers and mourners robbed while burying the dead or visiting cemeteries to put flowers on the graves of family and friends.
The lack of respect for the final resting places of loved ones in Nelson Mandela Bay is beyond shameful.
No-one who has lost a family member wants to go to the cemetery only to find the headstone and other fixtures missing, destroyed or lying on the ground, sinking graves and, in some cases, no access to certain sections due to flooding problems.
Her son’s water-filled grave is causing sleepless nights for one grieving mother, for whom the pain of losing him has been compounded by the trauma of what is happening at his burial site.
Meanwhile, a wall of remembrance at a Kariega cemetery has been reduced to rubble, headstones have been knocked over or broken, and gaping holes have been smashed in some of the concrete and marble grave tops.
At another cemetery in the town, the graves in a new section are sinking.
And in Geberha, at some cemeteries, graves are sinking and headstones toppling over due to the rising groundwater and suspected unsuitable soil.
Heartless criminals also prey on those visiting the cemeteries and vandals wantonly destroy what should be sacred.
Funeral industry experts have attributed the problem of sinking and water-filled graves to the lack of proper assessments being done before new sections are demarcated for burials.
“There is no proper control for cemeteries and that is a regulatory matter that needs to be addressed with Salga, which we have advised,” one said.
“There are no proper environmental impact assessments being done and those are absolutely crucial in the development of cemeteries.
“Cemeteries must have proper drainage because the ground needs to be adequate to absorb water and not contaminate our underground water.”
He also said the soil might not be suitable for graves.
Whatever the issues, this is something that needs to be addressed by the municipality with urgency.
As does the issue of security.
No-one who has just lost a child, parent or other family member should have to suffer the further trauma of being met by a gaping, water-filled hole when visiting the final resting place of a loved one or the wanton destruction by vandals of the fixtures.
HeraldLIVE
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