A distraught Rebecca Prinsloo recently visited the Germiston City News’ offices.<\/p>\n
She explained that she went to the Thomas Nkobi Cemetery to have a tombstone placed on her husband\u2019s grave and was appalled to discover that there are no numbers on the graves.<\/p>
She spent over an hour searching for her husband\u2019s grave in the waist high grass and rubbish.<\/p>\n
She claimed she saw a number of metro workers sitting under the trees, but none were working.<\/p>
The GCN approached the metro\u2019s department of communication and brand management to find out:<\/p>\n
q Why has the cemetery been left to get into such a state?<\/p>\n
q Why do the graves not have numbers?<\/p>\n
q When will the grass be cut and the rubbish collected?<\/p>\n
Themba Gadebe, spokesman for the metro, replied to these queries with the following statement:<\/p>\n
\u201cThe cemetery is contracted to GMZ contractors to do maintenance of the majority of the cemetery, while internal employees have a portion, including grave-digging.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe current contractor is not working according to specification, however, they have promised to complete the whole cemetery by Wednesday, February 11.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe issue regarding the cemetery workers could be due to a lot of factors and the city\u2019s real estate department cannot respond without the specific times and dates when these workers were found sitting.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the past, the grave markers were being stolen because of the metal quality, but they have now been replaced with white plastic markers.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the event that the white plastic markers fade, grave numbers are available on request from the cemetery office.<\/p>\n
\u201cAn intervention to construct a vandal proof grave numbering system is being investigated before being rolled out to all cemeteries.\u201d<\/p>\n
Have you had a similar experience at the Thomas Nkobi Cemetery?<\/p>\n
The GCN was unable to reach GMZ contractors for comment.<\/p>\n