By Brunhilde Rossouw | DA Councillor Masilonyana Municipality
Note to editors: Please find attached English and Afrikaans soundbites by Cllr Brunhilde Rossouw and Sesotho soundbite by David Masoeu MPL. Please see the pictures here, here, here, and here.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) will lobby municipal authorities to restore dignity to Winburg’s graveyards. The neglect of these sacred sites is not only an insult to the deceased but also damages the community’s historical and cultural heritage.
Visiting a loved one’s grave should bring peace, yet in Winburg, gravesites have been desecrated. Tombstones have been vandalised, community-erected fencing removed, and cattle now graze among the graves. Some enclosures are even used to house livestock. The crematorium niches have been broken open and destroyed.
Despite this neglect, burial costs here are double those of well-maintained cemeteries, with no explanation given. Historic sites, including the Anglo-Boer War graveyard, have also been looted. Fencing and steel crosses have been stolen and sold to scrap yards, and the well-known vault has been broken into.
The Voortrekker graveyard has become a hotspot for illicit activities due to the lack of cleaning and maintenance. The Community Work Programme (CWP) fails to maintain these sites, instead focusing on private properties, raising concerns about taxpayer money misuse.
Families now relocate deceased loved ones to other towns or farms at great expense due to the risk of vandalism.
The DA will push for security measures, reinstated fencing, and the preservation of heritage sites. Protecting these cemeteries will honour the past and attract tourism, benefiting Winburg’s economy. Our history must not be left to decay.