A woman who travelled 200 kilometres to visit a relative's grave in Grahamstown recently left sad and disappointed at the neglect she said she encountered at the Waainek cemetery.
Val Wild, who lives in Jeffrey's Bay, visited her brother's grave in New Cemetery, next to the N2 from Port Elizabeth.
Her brother was buried there in 2010.
A woman who travelled 200 kilometres to visit a relative's grave in Grahamstown recently left sad and disappointed at the neglect she said she encountered at the Waainek cemetery.
Val Wild, who lives in Jeffrey's Bay, visited her brother's grave in New Cemetery, next to the N2 from Port Elizabeth.
Her brother was buried there in 2010.
Two years later, she arrived to find a heap of sand almost obscuring the tombstone.
It is the responsibility of municipality to level that sand, Wild said.
She said the pile of sand made it difficult to see the names engraved on the tombstone.
The sand needs to be levelled and compacted just before it covers the whole headstone, she said.
The municipality doesn't care for the dead ones, and I feel disappointed with the way they neglected the new cemetery. I wonder what would they say if I would take my spade and clean that grave by myself.
She did note that the municipality had cut the grass, however.
Kevin Bates, from Makana Municipality's Parks and Recreation Department, responded to queries from Grocott's Mail, saying that Wild should raise her complaint with his department.
We level the ground every month and it's an ongoing process, said Bates.
He said he would investigate the matter this week and by next week the problem would be solved.
I didn't know about the pile of sand covering a grave and I will make sure the situation gets remedied as soon as I know which grave it is, he said.
