18 Aug 2021

Graveyard management in Etsha 13 in the Okavango sub-district has been compromised since the advent of the coronavirus in 2019.

From a distance, one can barely recognise the gravesite because of the shrubs and the dilapidated fence.

In an interview with BOPA, Kgosi James Sivako of Etsha 13 said the norm was that every six months, a group of Ipelegeng workers was engaged to do bush clearing, but things had since changed due to COVID-19.

He said Okavango sub-district council authorities had instructed them to halt engaging Ipelegeng workers because there was no water and toilets at the grave site.

Kgosi Sivako however highlighted that places such as graveyards needed proper maintenance as a way of showing respect to the dead.

“Our loved ones, ancestors and originators of Etsha 13 village are sleeping there. We need to honour and show respect by taking care of the grave site. The current state of our graveyard is not pleasing at all, more so that the country received plenty of rain this year which resulted in thick shrubs growing at the grave yard,” he said.

Etsha 13 VDC chairperson, Mr Kambango Habuhabu concurred with Kgosi Sivako that things were not looking good at the grave site, adding that something needed to be done.

As for the dilapidated fence, Mr Habuhabu said the logs used were not durable, adding that in future they would consider steel poles.

He also decried vandalism of the fence by both people and elephants. BOPA