Cleaning and weeding have begun at Le Repentir Cemetery, with Local Government Minister Priya Manickchand promising follow-up maintenance and minimum standards for burial grounds across the country.
Speaking from the cemetery, Manickchand contrasted overgrown sections with cleared areas where relatives could reach graves and tombs.
“You will see that it’s bushy, like a jungle,” she said, pointing to one section.
The minister said the aim was to make burial grounds more accessible and provide a dignified environment for grieving families.
“Any burial ground is a hard place to be, whether you’re bringing someone you love to bury, or you are going to visit someone you love,” she said.
Manickchand outlined minimum standards covering fencing, washroom facilities and access to graves and tombs. Fencing could include chain-link fences or hedges, she said.
She also said the ministry would seek compliance with existing requirements under the Public Health Act, including the spacing between tombs where room remained for burials.
The minister did not specify the required distances or identify the particular statutory provisions during the remarks.
Acknowledging that the Ministry of Public Works had previously carried out work at Le Repentir, Manickchand said vegetation could quickly return without continued upkeep.
“This is a one-time cleaning, and then maintenance afterwards, and that’s what we want to do,” she said.
The latest exercise follows repeated attempts over the years to clear the cemetery and establish sustained maintenance.
In November 2025, Stabroek News reported that vegetation which had overtaken Le Repentir had been removed following the award of 98 contracts by the Ministry of Public Works.
Maintenance difficulties were also acknowledged by the Mayor and City Council in 2019, when it proposed computerising burial records and re-establishing a cemetery committee.
The council said contractors had been engaged between 2016 and 2018, but maintaining a consistent schedule had proved difficult because of high costs and aggressive vegetation growth. The proposed committee was intended to develop a maintenance policy and examine partnerships for improving the cemetery.
Similar concerns had surfaced in 2014. Then Deputy Mayor Patricia Chase-Green told Stabroek News that although maintenance was the council’s responsibility, it lacked the personnel and equipment to sustain a government-led cleanup.
Manickchand said the current approach would extend beyond Le Repentir to burial grounds throughout Guyana.
Some had no remaining burial space and required maintenance, while others needed to be cleared to allow access and continued use, she said.
Her remarks did not disclose the cost of the current Le Repentir exercise, the contractors involved, a completion date or the arrangements and funding for subsequent maintenance.
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