By Nangamso Mabindla
2 June 2005

THE John Dube Cemetery, in the East London township of Scenery Park, was formally opened by the Buffalo City municipality on Wednesday, 1 June.

Speaking at the ceremony, Councillor Luleka Simon said the new burial ground, covering an area of five hectares, was a symbol of delivery in Buffalo City.

"In naming this cemetery we are also preserving the name of a great warrior for freedom."

John Dube was a founding member of the South African Native National Council, which later became the African National Congress. In 1914 Dube led a delegation to Britain to protest against the Native Land Act.

He was renowned as an editor, teacher and civil rights leader. Simon commended the community of Scenery Park for choosing the name and for their patience during the project.

"This cemetery belongs to the whole community and it is truly a resting place that is reflective of a caring and responsible community," he said, urging people to keep it neat and clean.

Councillor Vuyani Holiday agreed. "We should take care of this cemetery and respect the people lying here."

Funds were received from the Amathole District Municipality for the fencing and construction of ablution facilities, Holiday said. "This has now been completed and we are handing the cemetery over to the community of Scenery Park."

In 1995 the then East London TLC identified the need for a cemetery in Scenery Park and a suitable site was selected.

However, Simon said that despite the new cemetery Buffalo City, like any other city in the country, was running out of space to bury its dead. "The debate about new methods of dealing with human remains has not begun in earnest in our city, but it will come," she said.