SADA residents are concerned that the close proximity of a cemetery nearby may result in disease.
The Rep visited Sada cemetery recently and spoke to people in the area, following concerns raised by United Front leader Khaya Gwana.
Themba Vuthuza was cleaning his family grave on a Sunday afternoon.
“It makes us feel bad when we visit our family graves and find them in such an appalling condition. Enoch Mgijima Local Municipality (EMLM) can have people clean up the site,” he said. Vuthuza said families cleaned the immediate areas next to the graves.
Mzwandile Ngeno lives a stone’s throw away from the gravesite, where a few poles are being used to hold up the fence.
He said it was unheard of that a cemetery should be in such close proximity to houses.
“We can’t keep leftovers for the following day because when we wake up, it will be swarming with insects. This is a health hazard and we will have diseases no one has ever heard of,” he said.
Ngeno said cows damaged tombstones as they roamed the unfenced cemetery.
He claimed EMLM had allegedly removed the fence when it ran out of space.
Gwana said the water that runs down the hills on rainy days was also damaging the tombstones.
“One of these days we are going to see bodies floating in the yards and in town. Look, there are holes where the water travels.”
Gwana said the municipality continued making money by selling gravesites, while there was no space.
Dumisani Kofi, who recently buried a relative, said there was no space between graves.
He said families could not fence their graves to protect them due to the space constraints. “The gravesite is in a worrying state. This is an unbearable situation and we are being exposed to the worst health hazard.”
EMLM communications manager Fundile Feketshane had not responded to queries sent last week.
