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IOL News
16 hours ago
- 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)
IOL News
03-07-2025
- Business
- IOL News
Rising food prices jeopardise school nutrition programme for millions of learners
Services providers who provide food for schools' feeding schemes say the rising cost of food is impacting on their businesses. Image: Independent Newspapers Archives The National Student Nutrition Programme (NSNP) Service Providers Association has raised alarm over the rising prices of zero-rated food items, warning that the increases threaten the sustainability of the feeding scheme programme and could leave millions of schoolchildren without their only nutritious meal of the day. Spokesperson Thabang Mncwabe said the association had noted with deep concern recent reports indicating a significant increase in the prices of zero-rated food items, despite these products being exempt from Value-Added Tax. "According to the latest data, the average cost of key zero-rated staple foods including maize meal, brown bread, and samp has risen by over 4.1% in the past year," said Mncwabe. "The cost of a basic food basket has increased by R113, putting pressure not only on households but also on NSNP service providers who are mandated to deliver nutritious meals daily to millions of learners under stringent fixed-budget contracts." Mncwabe said the rising prices were having a direct and adverse effect on service providers. He explained that many of them are working within contracts that do not make provision for inflationary escalations or economic shocks. As a result, service providers are forced to either absorb the additional costs, compromising business sustainability, or reduce meal quality and portions, which undermines the objectives of the NSNP. He warned that if the issue is not urgently addressed, it may lead to service disruptions, delayed deliveries, and in the worst-case scenario, the complete withdrawal of service providers. "Such outcomes would have devastating consequences for the education and wellbeing of millions of learners who rely on the NSNP for their only nutritious meal of the day." Mncwabe called on the Department of Basic Education, the National Treasury, and other relevant stakeholders to urgently review the current pricing model and implement inflation-linked contract adjustments. He also appealed for emergency funding to cushion providers against further economic volatility and urged engagement with the Association to develop a sustainable pricing and procurement framework. He said the Association also supports exploring community-based procurement from local producers and farmers to improve cost-effectiveness and support local economies. "The NSNP Service Providers Association remains committed to the core mission of ensuring that no child goes to school hungry," said Mncwabe. "We reiterate our willingness to work collaboratively with government, civil society, and industry experts to develop lasting solutions to the challenges posed by rising food costs." THE MERCURY
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The Citizen
23-05-2025
- Business
- The Citizen
Thousands march against Nsfas in Durban after months of non-payment [VIDEO]
One company said it is owed more than R17.5 million by Nsfas. Students in KwaZulu-Natal-based staged a protest on Friday demanding that the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (Nsfas) pay the money owed to landlords. Some of the students have not received funds from Nsfas for up to five months, meaning they are at risk of losing their accommodation, they can't afford food and their studies have not been paid for. Students and landlords march against Nsfas About 2 000 angry protesters gathered at King Dinuzulu Park and proceeded to Durban City Hall to hand over a memorandum of grievances. Some of the landlords also joined the protest. Philani Mncwabe, the executive director of MSR Consultants, a company that deals with student accommodation in KwaZulu-Natal, said several landlords decided to participate in the march because Nsfas owes them money. Watch: Students and landlords protest against Nsfas Mncwabe said his company alone is owed more than R17.5 million. 'We would like to express our deep concern regarding the ongoing non-payment of accommodation allowances by the Nsfas, which continues to affect over 700 Thekwini TVET College students residing in our properties. As of today, students have not received their housing allowances for more than five months, resulting in an accumulated debt exceeding R17.5 million owed to MSR Consultants alone. 'We are demanding urgent intervention from Nsfas and the Department of Higher Education and Training. This action is not only a reflection of the escalating crisis but a desperate call for accountability and a sustainable solution.' Reasons for Nsfas non-payment Mncwabe said that at the core of the non-payment issue is the systemic failure of technical and vocational education and training [TVET] institutions to submit timely and complete registration data, ongoing defunding of students without adequate explanation and Nsfas' internal inefficiencies in processing payments. He said, as a result of Nsfas' failure, hundreds of students are being left without stable accommodation and basic necessities and landlords are being forced to carry financial burdens that threaten the sustainability of private student housing. ALSO READ: Higher education minister apologises for late Nsfas payments, addresses appeals He said he had not yet evicted any students, as that would compromise their right to education and dignity. 'Instead, we are exhausting all democratic avenues — including this march — to raise our concerns and demand collective action. 'We also wish to highlight that the crisis extends beyond TVETs. We currently accommodate over 300 students across the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) and Durban University of Technology (DUT), many of whom have not received payment or have recently been defunded. Some students from the previous academic period remain unpaid, adding to the growing debt owed to us.' He added that the problem not only impacts landlords and students — it affects institutions themselves. The protesters' demands included: Parliament and the executive to urgently allocate an additional budget to Nsfas; The minister of higher education to engage the TVET sector with the same urgency she has shown toward universities; and Nsfas to establish a national student accommodation forum made up of representatives from landlords, institutions, student bodies, South African Local Government Association (Salga), Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) and a national task team to oversee crisis response and long-term sector planning. Mncwabe said they were instructed to hand over the memorandum to the City Hall management, as Nsfas and the DHET representatives were not available to receive it. By the time of publication, Nsfas and the DHET had not responded to questions from The Citizen. NOW READ: Nsfas recovers over R850 million following SIU probe
IOL News
07-05-2025
- Business
- IOL News
Service providers storm KZN Health and Education departments
The National School Nutrition Programme is a vital lifeline for over 9 million poor learners across the country. Image: Supplied TWO KwaZulu-Natal departments are struggling to pay their service providers, which has led to the latter storming their offices to demand their overdue payments. The KZN departments of Health and Education were on Monday confronted by unpaid service providers who demanded their payments and gave the departments ultimatums. Companies that are service providers for the South African National School Nutrition Programme (NSNP), popularly known as the school feeding scheme, said they have no idea how they will manage to survive after months of being unpaid by the Education Department. The service providers allege the department has been making empty promises for some time. Some said they are still waiting for payment for delivery of food from last year. The NSNP serves more than 2 million pupils across the province in 5400. A representative of the school feeding scheme service providers in KZN, Thabang Mncwabe, said service providers are going through a difficult time. "There are service providers who have not been paid since last year. Some are paid insufficient amounts. We don't know who takes the rest and where they take it because the national Department of Education pays out the full amount," said Mncwabe. "We had been relying on Ithala; since it's now closed, we're now at the mercy of loan sharks. Even they are tired of us because we fail to pay them. We keep looking over our shoulders because we owe loan sharks." The Department of Education promised to pay them on Thursday. In a statement the department said 78% of the service providers were paid in April and said the rest weren't paid because of glitches with the implementation of a new financial system. The head of the department, Nkosinathi Ngcobo, apologised to the service providers who were not paid. Today, the department issued a new statement. "As of 24 April 2025, 78% of the payments were successfully processed. Subsequent attempts to finalise the remaining payments on 25 April and 2 May were unsuccessful due to technical difficulties linked to the implementation of a new financial system, BAS Version 6, which is an upgrade from the previous BAS Version 5. The National Treasury's IT team is currently working around the clock to resolve the system failures. "The payment run that was scheduled to take place yesterday, 06 May 2025, was successful for the remaining 22% of unpaid service providers, and they will receive their payments on 09 May 2025. The department has full records of all unpaid service providers. These lists have been shared with district offices to ensure that affected service providers are kept informed and that no further disruptions occur in the provision of meals to learners. "We acknowledge the concerns raised by our valued service providers and wish to assure them that the department is doing everything possible to resolve the technical glitches affecting payment processes. The problem has nothing to do with the financial difficulties of the department, for the NSNP is paid from the grant allocation. "We remain committed to transparency, timeous communication, and the uninterrupted provision of meals to our learners across the Province of KwaZulu-Natal. As a department, we would like to thank all stakeholders for their patience and cooperation as we work to stabilise the system and maintain the integrity of the National School Nutrition Programme,' said Ngcobo.
