The residents of Sekondi Takoradi have criticized the Metropolitan Assembly over its decision to close down the city’s biggest cemetery.

Many of the residents who spoke to Francis Wajah of Radio Maxx accused the Assembly of allowing people to encroach on the cemetery lands which has led to the closure.

The Assembly served notice it will close down the cemetery on 7th August 2017 as space in the cemetery has been exhausted.

One resident said, “we are begging STMA to do something about this situation and stop people from encroaching on the cemetery lands”.

Another resident said, “the assembly should have created the awareness earlier and made other provisions for bereaved families to bury their dead.”

Yet, others believe the Assembly ought to have concentrated on fixing other cemeteries to make it standard just like the Takoradi cemetery.

The Public Relations Officer of the Assembly, John Last, said: “the available spaces have been exhausted and as a result, the assembly has decided to close the cemetery”.

He added that the only available space has been reserved for the Military and the Muslim community.

Mr. John Last advised bereaved families to use other cemeteries to bury their dead. There is also a suggestion for the residents to take their dead to their hometowns for burial but the residents have kicked against that.

One of the residents said not everyone can go back to their hometown to bury their dead as the people in the much smaller community are also burying loved ones.

Everyone going to their hometown will equally create traffic for such cemeteries, they asserted.

Also, other residents said the hometowns of many of them are very far from Takoradi and they cannot travel far to bury people.