The Engineer’s Department of the Mayor and City Council is expected to commence maintenance works at the run-down Le Repentir Cemetery from Monday.
This was disclosed at a forum held yesterday at City Hall where discussions were held between officials of the M&CC which included Deputy Mayor Robert Williams and members of the public.
M&CC councillor Ranwell Jordan told the gathering, which included church members and funeral home officials, that the council has recognized areas which are in need of improvement within the cemetery including fencing. He said even though a new cemetery is needed within Georgetown, Le Repentir cannot be closed at the moment.
Several suggestions were made by members of the audience and these included the use of prisoners to assist in maintenance of the cemetery, rehabilitation of several aspects of infrastructure within the burial site as well as the enforcement of regulations regarding the type of materials to be used for the burial of the dead.
Williams told this newspaper yesterday that several persons have agreed and submitted their names as part of an advisory group which will meet shortly to examine suggestions made at the forum. He said the maintenance cost of the cemetery amounts to $32M per year against $12M revenue collected by the council annually and this was also addressed at yesterday’s meeting.
The council also plans to revive the mortuary and cold storage area located at Le Repentir. Advertisements will be publicized shortly as part of a tendering process for the rehabilitation of the mortuary. It was pointed out at the forum that a private funeral home was identified to renovate and maintain the facility but the home has since withdrawn after receiving threats from unknown persons.
Several religious groups have arranged with the M&CC to prepare sections of the cemetery for the interment of the dead. Over the past two weeks a Muslim group, Islam Cares, has been clearing the Muslim section of the cemetery on Sunday mornings. The group has so far voluntarily cleared that section of Le Repentir allocated to them and plans to clean other sections of the cemetery as well as other cemeteries around Georgetown and its environs.
The M&CC is accepting suggestions from the general public regarding renovations and the general maintenance of Le Repentir and interested persons can contact the Engineering Department of the council with their suggestions.
