Restoration of Le Repentir to commence next week

May 20, 2009 News

– Advisory Committee to guide process

A section of the gathering at yesterday’s meeting

Works intended to improve the Le Repentir Cemetery are likely to commence as early as next week, an initiative that is expected to obtain much needed input from members of the public.
And according to Deputy Mayor Robert Williams, a deal has been sealed by the City Engineer, to have prisoners comprise the core of the work force in the restoration process.
This development was charted following a public forum held at City Hall yesterday where recommendations were made to promote the urgent need for the improvement of the burial facility.
According to Public Relations Officer, Royston King, an Advisory Committee comprising a number of persons, including prominent city residents, religious activists, representatives of funeral homes and other citizens, as well as the municipality, will be tasked with guiding the process forward.
The Committee, King said, is likely to host its first meeting in this regard on Friday.
Yesterday’s forum, which was intended to draw recommendations from members of the public attracted admirable attendance, compared to other public forum the municipality held recently with regards to works being undertaken in the city.
Deputy Mayor Robert Williams, in a prelude to yesterday’s interactive session, pointed to the fact that although $32 M is budgeted for the maintenance of the cemetery the municipality is barely able to collect a meagre $11 M through burial costs.
He said that some $20 M of taxpayers’ money, intended to effect road works, finance street lighting among other things, have to be expended as subsidy in the cemetery. “And even after putting all that into the cemetery, in terms of employment and physical arrangements, the cemetery is still in a state…Something has to be wrong so we need your recommendations,” Williams told an attentive gathering.
However, the fact that the cemetery functions with a $20 M deficit clearly suggests that its operation is no longer economically viable, was the viewpoint of a members of the gathering.
The Deputy Mayor, acknowledging that the cemetery is in a deplorable condition, pointed out that the activities of the cemetery has exceeded its original intent.
“Because there has been an increase in sicknesses and diseases of various forms, fatal accidents and crimes the use of the cemetery is far more than originally thought as necessary for Georgetown,” Williams said.
He said that while the city expanded in 1970 the expansion did not cater for the burial location. There was no discussion with village councils to have a combination of approaches for the use of other cemeteries within the city.
“Activities of religious organisations and their rules and regulations restricted the use of some cemeteries in some church compounds, to members of the churches. The city expanded from two and a half square miles in 1970 to 15 square miles to encompass from Agricola to Cummings Lodge.” Additionally, Williams said that the expansion did not take into consideration Sophia as a Housing Community as at the time it was an agriculture base. He disclosed that the area functioned as a reservoir for rainfall until the water reached the Liliendaal pump.
But although the area now accommodates a housing scheme, Williams said that arrangements were not made for those residents when they pass away.
The situation at the cemetery has however been compounded by a decision taken in 1995 to have the cemetery accommodate a temporary landfill site (Le Repentir Dump Site) which should not have surpassed two years.
A total of five acres was afforded the landfill site, which today occupies about 22 acres of the cemetery further reducing the capacity of the facility. The lack of maintenance on the part of the municipality has led to the burial ground becoming overgrown and remaining in a dilapidated condition today.
“I had to hide on Mother’s Day both in person and from telephone calls from those who wanted to pay tribute or lay wreath on Mother’s Day. As a consequence I took it as a matter of urgency and urged some colleagues of mine to do what we are doing today,” Williams disclosed.
And since the municipality is financially challenge the Deputy Mayor said that the restoration of the cemetery will be funded by the monthly $10 M that has been assured by government.