Residents in Mariental, Hardap Region, particularly those in the Empelheim neighbourhood have urged the local municipality to clean up the cemetery, which has been neglected for months. According to locals who contacted Nampa, Mariental has three graveyards, one in the Empelheim suburb, one in Aimablaagte, and one in the town area - indicating that the two cemeteries are located in the suburbs, as opposed to the one located in town, have been in severe disrepair. The residents say that while the Empelheim Cemetery has a caretaker who works for the municipality and is in charge of watering the plants, the heavy rains at the beginning of the year have caused conditions in the cemetery to deteriorate by the day. They also stated that while it is the responsibility of family members to care for their deceased loved ones’ graves, it is the municipality’s responsibility to keep the property in good condition, adding that cemeteries serve as both a place of rest for the deceased and a place of visitation for bereaved family members and “not a place where you have to bring a shovel when you want to visit the grave because you have to clear a path to the graves”. NAMPA spoke to Mariental Municipality Community Development Officer, Domingo Matesu, who said the municipality is well aware of the condition of all three cemeteries and that the authority has resorted to every option that is within available resources to ensure the cemeteries are well looked after. Matesu said that through the municipality’s efforts, it received assistance from the Mariental Correctional Facility, which aided with some prisoners who were willing to help clean the cemeteries, but that this was only a temporary arrangement.