Grave conflict: Cemetery keeper accused of exploitation
“First he started off by telling me only three contractors can work in the cemetery, which I found to be stupid because why I should have to hire one of them and my father has brothers and so willing to build his tomb…. He told me the only back hoe that could work in that grave yard is (names called). When I realised I was being extorted I started to seek advice but I was getting nowhere,” alleged Jerome E. Lettsome
“We suppose to pay for the site, just the site but he (name called) making the construction thing now a business. I do not know how much we pay for the site because his (name called) bill is more than the funeral home bill, the funeral home and that casket and so not costing us six thousand dollars.”
$6000 for construction of a tomb?
This issue came to fore on December 10, 2016 as Mr Lettsome said he was progressing with plans for the burial of his father and when approached, the grave yard manager first told him that there was no space in the old grave yard in the East End Community and he needed to utilise a space in the new grave yard of which a fee of $6,000 was required for the construction of the tomb.
Lettsome said he then made his own arrangements, contracted his own men to construct his father’s tomb but the accused insisted on being involved and demanded to be paid, even sending him an invoice for $3,000.
“How he suddenly reached to $3,000 from $6000 I don’t know but he deciding how much I paid for my material and deducting that amount and want me to pay him $1,200, for what? I had my men do my work and even if he and others assisted it was just two days and he can’t tell me the breakdown how he reach that amount,” alleged Lettsome.
The man said he took his complaint to the level of the Ministry of Health and Social Development as he also said the grave yard manager is engaged in “racketeering.”
“No matter how I think this man back off he in front of me. The morning when I was going bury my father I had to turn away because he make me feel if I didn’t give him this money, he going start an argument, the man body couldn’t go inside the grave.”
“If the government has him employed to keep the grave yard clean all of a sudden now they turn it into a business.”
Efforts to get a response to the allegations from the "grave yard manager" were unsuccessful up to the time of publication.
However, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health and Social Development, Petrona N. Davies, said she has not been personally contacted regarding any complaint of exploitation but her understanding is that one client expressed some dissatisfaction to a member of staff recently “and was asked to submit a formal complaint which would be investigated upon receipt.”
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36 Responses to “Grave conflict: Cemetery keeper accused of exploitation”
Let us be buried in the earth and rot away .These vaults taking up space , making the neighbourhood unsightly and there will come the time RIGHT HERE in BVI when the grave robbers will strike . We donot take water from wells anymore as we have multi million $$ water plants ; so what is the BIG concern about NOT having grave burials ?
I personally think it is a scheme to rob poor ppl .After 15/20 years if the family cannot afford to tomb their love one grave then a HEAD STONE can be erected and the space reuse ; it happens all over the caribbean
Im sure it happens in the Anglican / Methodist grave yards
No one is any worst off
Until one vault leaks and a BIG STINK comes then we hear d OMPONG
If it were up to me everyone would be cremated because we will eventually run out of grave yard space regardless.
Sorry. What did you mean to say? Don't understand.