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IOL News
22-07-2025
- IOL News
What happens when you live in a cemetery? A resident shares chilling experiences
Residents have spent thousands of rands building houses inside Azalea Graveyard in Pietermaritzburg. Image: Bongani Hans Imagine you wake up in the still of the night to check a strange noise outside your house, only to see something that looks like a human being wearing white clothes standing in your yard, but you cannot see the head. This is a hair-raising vision that Nombifikile Mncwabe*, who lives in Azalea Cemetery in Pietermaritzburg, claimed to have seen two years ago. Mncwabe, is among hundreds of residents who, many years ago, invaded the Msunduzi Municipality's graveyard to build large houses. Most of the residents have finished building their homes and are now occupying them, while some half-built houses look abandoned. Mncwabe said she bought a plot of land in 2017 from a resident of nearby Willowfontein who claimed to be the land's owner. She and her neighbours claimed to have spent between R30 000 and R150 000 buying the land, which had graves with some of them visible through heaps of soil with crosses and tombstones. 'One midnight, I was awakened by a strange noise, and when I went outside, I saw something that looked like a man wearing white clothes, but I could not see the head. As I was looking, it vanished. 'Another night I saw a huge white horse, which grew larger as it walked away until it disappeared. 'I am sure that this place is haunted by the spirits of the dead people,' said Mncwabe. Pietermaritzburg residents building home inside graveyards Image: Bongani Hans Mncwabe said she relocated to the area from a low-cost housing settlement in France outside Imbali Township, after her daughter was brutally killed during a house invasion. 'After the incident, I decided to buy this land because France is too dangerous,' said Mncwabe. The cemetery has also become a dump site, and some of the tombstones have been damaged. Delivering the budget speech at the Pietermaritzburg City Hall on May 28, city Mayor Mzimkhulu Thebolla expressed concern about invasion at the cemetery, which he said was disturbing the spirits of deceased from resting in peace. He said the municipality had established a unit that would prevent the escalation of invasion. He said the invasion was preventing the municipality from keeping the graveyard in good condition. When this reporter visited the cemetery on Tuesday, it found two security guards posted to prevent further construction of houses. Zwelakhe Mbanjwa from Willowfontein area said he stopped the construction of a house on top of his grandmother's grave. 'I discovered the construction when a rondavel was already halfway up on top of two graves, of which one of them was my grandmother's. 'The owner of the house agreed to demolish it to the foundation, which we have now turned into the tombstone,' said Mbanjwa. Other residents denied that their houses have been built on top of the graves, saying that they selected vacant spaces. They said that if the municipality decides to force them to vacate the cemetery, they should be relocated to another area and be compensated. 'Since the municipality did not stop us when we started the construction, it should consider that we have spent hundreds of thousands of rands, and these are loans that we are still paying back to the banks,' said another resident who also asked not to be identified. Ward 14 councillor Sibusiso Mkhize said, although the homeowners have committed an offence, it should be considered that most of them spend their pension payouts to build homes. He said although the invaders have built inside the cemetery, only about 10 have built on top of the graves. 'We had resolved a possible conflict, as there were people who were demanding the demolition of the houses that had been built on top of the loved ones. 'We are now waiting for the municipality to come up with a solution to the problem,' said Mkhize. Residents of Seaview Cemetery navigate their daily lives amidst tombstones. Image: Sibonelo Ngcobo/ Independent Newspapers In Durban, concern over the construction of informal structures on graves at Seaview Cemetery on Coedmore Road has been reignited. Construction is believed to have begun in 1990, and today, over 400 people live there, with some building on graves. When you enter the cemetery where people were supposedly buried many years ago, you are drawn to the tombstones. Sometimes you find a tombstone staring at you from the entrance of a shack, while other times you find it inside a shack, being walked on or slept on. Young children play and chase each other on the graves. Young children chase each other on the sacred grounds of Seaview Cemetery. Image: Sibonelo Ngcobo/ Independent Newspapers Resident Doris Zeka, 50, said she moved from Kokstad to the cemetery about 30 years ago. She said many residents were from the Eastern Cape. Zeka acknowledged that living in a cemetery was not okay, but they were desperate. 'We don't have the means to leave and rent elsewhere,' Zeka said. She said her informal structure is built around a grave, and they placed a table on it. 'We want to leave because of the heat. It's too hot here,' Zeka said. On service delivery, she said they have illegally connected electricity, which officials disconnect. Zeka said the last time officials visited the area was last year, and they took photographs. Tombstones form the backdrop to the daily lives of Seaview Cemetery residents. Image: Sibonelo Ngcobo/ Independent Newspapers Another resident, Buyelwa Ncedo from Tsolo, Eastern Cape, said she arrived in the area in 1995. She said that relatives of those buried in the graves they built on top of, came until they gave up. 'They got tired because they realised there was no way they could see their relatives' graves,' Ncedo said. She said they had never attacked them or taken any action against them because they realised the place had become their home. Informal structures built around graves in Seaview Cemetery. Image: Sibonelo Ngcobo/ Independent Newspapers KwaZulu-Natal Transport and Human Settlements MEC Siboniso Duma asked department head, Max Mbili, working with the eThekwini Municipality, to accelerate the profiling of families living in the cemetery. 'It should be remembered that shortly after 1994, the democratic government under Nelson Mandela prioritised the construction of houses for communities in the area. The priority was given to the families who had lived in the area since 1981,' Duma said. He said that in early 2000, the late Housing MEC Dumisani Makhaye, former Housing MEC Mike Mabuyakhulu, former eThekwini Municipality mayor Obed Mlaba and former Human Settlements and Infrastructure Committee chairperson Nigel Gumede presided over the relocation of families from the area to newly built homes in Welbedacht, in Chatsworth. Duma called on communities to respect the dead. 'Cemeteries are sacred places where the dead must be allowed to rest in peace,' Duma said. (*Not her real name)
The Star
29-06-2025
- Politics
- The Star
Floyd Shivambu gains support from 10+ parties for Mayibuye Consultation initiative
Bongani Hans | Published 1 day ago Former uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP) secretary-general Floyd Shivambu has claimed that more than 10 parties have pledged to support his idea of forming the Mayibuye Consultation process, which would give birth to a new ultra-left political party. He first announced the consultative process when he addressed the media last week after he was fired as secretary-general of the Jacob Zuma-led party, which failed to honour its promise to deploy him to the national Parliament. In another media briefing held in Johannesburg on Friday, Shivambu said the political parties that supported his move were represented in various municipalities. He said he had also received a list of volunteers through the online platform, which has established a submission form that was filled out online to suggest the nature of the new political party. 'We are deeply humbled by the confidence of those who came forward to pledge their solidarity and volunteered their time for the consultation process that we are embarking on,' said Shivambu. According to him, the number of volunteers he had received was huge enough for the formation of the new party. 'Out of the people that we have, we can be able, as the Mayibuye Consultation Team, to identify leadership structures in all 4,634 wards, all 257 sub-regions, 54 regions or districts, and all nine provinces in South Africa. 'We are in a space now, with the number of volunteers, to constitute a fully-fledged national organisation,' said Shivambu. He said some ANC, EFF, DA, and MKP members who are in municipalities and the Government of National Unity MPs have pledged support while some of the incumbent councillors have already offered to resign and become part of Mayibuye. 'What stands out in the submissions we have received thus far is that those who have submitted say we should form a party that would not just be a talking instrument or a party of complaints or an empty promise. 'They are saying the party must be involved in social upliftment programs, inclusive of healthcare awareness, educational assistance, skills development in our communities, and a variety of other programs that are reachable and practical for a party to fulfil.' He said the submissions suggested that the party should encourage black people to fully participate in the country's economic projects. 'We should also promote black economic solidarity, meaning we should encourage black South Africans to support each other in business and entrepreneurial projects,' said Shivambu. He stated that he was agreeing with the submissions because blacks were recipients of more than a trillion rand annually through income generated through business activities, salaries, and social grants, but they do not spend the money among themselves. 'They spend up to 80% of that trillion rand in businesses that are not owned by black South Africans. 'There is a spirit that is being infused as to why shouldn't we pursue a program of black community solidarity, which will be a collective upliftment of all our people as the rest of other people (races) circulate money among themselves and it is only us who give 80% of our income to other people (races) and therefore remained in a vicious circle of poverty,' he said. He said Mayibuye has also received advice from foreign countries that the new party should associate itself with anti-imperialist countries. He said some submissions suggested that the party should associate with and respect traditional and religious leaders. 'We must be guided by the principle of ubuntu. There is also a submission that instead of being a political party, we must be a United Democratic Front-like movement, which has affiliate membership, meaning that civic organisations and community-based organisations can join as organisations instead of being a party that is joined by one person, a one membership form, and one membership card,' he said. [email protected]
IOL News
29-05-2025
- Business
- IOL News
Labour unions demand action against security companies for failing to pay employee benefits
Members of various labour unions marched in Pietermaritzburg to the provincial legislature to demand that the provincial government blacklist security companies that are not contributing to their employees' benefits despite deducting from salaries. Image: Bongani Hans KwaZulu-Natal government-contracted security companies have been accused of not contributing to their employees' medical aid, provident funds, and Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) despite deducting from their salaries for that purpose. A group of labour unions, including the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa), marched to the provincial legislature on Tuesday demanding the provincial government to blacklist 41 companies alleged to be shortchanging their employees. The Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority (PSiRA) was also aware of such illegal practice. 'We refer such complaints to the National Bargaining Council of the Private Security Sector (NBCPSS) for investigations and possibly recouping such monies. 'A lot of them (companies) claim to have registered with the provident fund and UIF, but do not pay it (employees' deductions) over to such institutions, but such businesses are taken to task by NBCPSS and PSiRA,' said PSiRA spokesperson Bonang Kleinbooi. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕ During the protest march, five unions that were affiliated with the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) and the South African Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu) handed a memorandum to the provincial legislature for Premier Thami Ntuli's attention. Ntuli's spokesperson, Bongani Gina, commended the unions for providing the government with a list of transgressing companies that were contracted by various departments. He said the government would work with the NBCPSS in investigating the matter. 'This matter requires a detailed assessment of each contract. 'The Office of the Premier assures the unions and the public that this matter will receive the attention it deserves, and we look forward to working towards a resolution that protects the rights and welfare of security guards,' said Gina. The unions said the 41 companies were among more than 1,500 others in the province that were breaching the NBCPSS collective agreement. 'Fraudulent deductions affect about 90,000 active security officers in KwaZulu-Natal, depriving them of their rightful benefits, such as health insurance and a provident fund, because of these dishonest and irregular and fraudulent deductions,' read the memorandum. 'They alleged that the security guards, who were mostly poorly paid, would lose R15.5 million in medical cover, R65.9 million of provident fund, and over R13 million of UIF per month to 'these unscrupulous and corrupt security companies'. 'This has a negative impact on security officers when they retire or have their contracts terminated,' said the unions. According to the NBCPSS's Main Collective Agreement, which is governed by the Labour Relations Act (LRA), security companies should be registered with the Private Security Sector Fund (PSSPF) and NBCPSS Health Insurance and also pay basic salaries, including allowances, overtime, and levies. 'This grand theft, fraud, and exploitation of security officers is not only a general disregard of the law but a major risk to the reputation of the provincial government,' unions said. They called on Ntuli to ensure that the government departments were not participating in the exploitation of security officers. 'As the custodian of the provincial purse, the premier should be the first to always remember his obligations in terms of the LRA and adopt measures to promote, protect, and fulfil workers' rights as enshrined in the Main Collective Agreement.' South African Transport and Allied Workers Union (Satawu) secretary Nothemba Dlamini said some security guards would not receive their salaries for up to three months. South African National Security Employers Association (SANSEA) secretary Steve Condadie stated that some companies that are affiliated with his association were also victims of the government department's delay in paying for services. But he stressed that companies that were not transferring deductions to the relevant entities were acting illegally. 'One or two companies that are affiliated with us have said they were not involved in failing to transfer the deductions. 'But they said the provincial government was delaying in paying for the services they rendered on time, with one of them saying it has not been paid since December last year,' said Condadie.
