Cows grazing on top of the dead

GEORGE NEWS - A Thembalethu resident has taken to social media to complain about the state of Thembalethu graveyard, which she alleges is not being taken care of.

Idinga visited the graveyard to see if the claims made on Facebook were true. We found part of the fence missing and saw that people are using the graveyard as a shortcut. Weeds are covering some of the graves and tombstones.

Indinga was told by municipal employees who work at the site that the fence is being stolen by community members and that cows also graze on top of the dead.

The director of Community Services at the George Municipality, Walter Hendricks, said all the cemeteries in George are experiencing weed outbreaks. "The municipality has partnered with the Cooperative Governance Traditional Affairs department's Community Work Programme (CWP), to assist specifically in the cleaning of the Thembalethu cemetery that is in use by the George Municipality," said Hendricks.

He said that the fencing of the cemetery will be seen to in due course. "It was budgeted for and it is all part of the cemeteries' development, which also includes York Street."