THE lack of maintenance at Humansdorp town graveyard, which has resulted in overgrown grass and trees, has left residents fearing for their safety and frustrated when they are unable to locate their loved one’s grave sites.
While attending a funeral at Humansdorp town graveyard recently, Jonathan Phyllis, from 7de Laan in Humansdorp, noticed the state of the graveyard which he described as in a ‘critical condition’.
He said the graveyard was one of the town’s iconic symbols and was the resting place for many people in the area.
Phyllis said many of the grave sites which were erected in 2016, were overgrown with grass and were left unmaintained since they were erected.
“For almost six years, these grave sites have been left with overgrown grass and now have big trees. These trees can be seen on top of the graves and surrounding the graves,” said Phyllis.
He said the overgrown grass and trees posed a safety risk for the people visiting their loved ones’ graves.
In addition, he said, there was no fence surrounding the graveyard; there were many open bushes nearby and there were no security guards on the premises.
“The major challenge at the graveyard is safety. You can easily get robbed or killed while you are visiting the graveyard,” said Phyllis.
Apart from the lack of safety at the graveyard, Phyllis said it was often difficult for visitors to locate their loved ones’ graves, due to the overgrown grass and trees.
He said the late Brenda Rollison, a former Kouga Local Municipality councillor, who was loved by many in 7de Laan, was buried at the same graveyard, but residents often struggled to locate her grave, when they wanted to pay their respects.
“It is not good that our loved ones have been forgotten like this. Action needs to be taken to deal with the lack of maintenance at this graveyard,” said Phyllis.
“I hope the municipality will take care of this problem and treat the dead with dignity.”
According to Community Services Portfolio Councillor, Daniel Benson, the Humansdorp Town Graveyard was last cleaned in 2019; however, they are currently in the process of cleaning the graveyard.
“We are in the process of sourcing quotations from the local service providers to clean the graveyard, and the project will commence as soon as the procurement process is complete,” said Benson.
He further said the municipality had major plans to refurbish the graveyard which has been made a priority in the 2022/23 financial year.
