PRIME Minister Bruce Golding has ordered the Kingston and St Andrew Corporation (KSAC) to do an overall mapping of the May Pen Cemetery to find out what is needed to bring the facility back to its glory days.

Speaking during a tour of the facility this afternoon, Golding said the cemetery was in a deplorable state, a problem that had to be addressed in the long term.

He said for this to be done, a combined effort from both Government and the private sector was needed.

Golding said one of the ideas that he would be discussing with the KSAC and other government officials, was about allocating parts of the cemetery to private owners.

Golding's tour was called to inspect the burial site following reports that cemetery workers had found numerous human bones during clean-up operations in the cemetery.

The tour — which involved Kingston Mayor Desmond McKenzie and KSAC Town Clerk Errol Greene — took about an hour.

The cemetery workers had expressed health concerns, and KSAC checks had indicated improper burial practices at the cemetery.

The police had also raised concerns, as they were not sure whether the bones were dumped in the cemetery or were from graves at the burial ground.

Meanwhile, while the assessments continue, the KSAC has barred private contractors from building vaults at the cemetery.

The disclosure was made by McKenzie during Tuesday’s KSAC council meeting. He said that the decision was taken after officers observed a vault being constructed at the cemetery on Monday, without any steel.

The poor construction of vaults at the burial ground has resulted in some of them collapsing, he said.

The mayor also said that orders had been given for the gates of the cemetery to be closed between 6:00 pm and 6:00 am.

He said that some persons would go to the cemetery in the dead of night and leave decomposing bodies without the knowledge of the KSAC.

Related story:

Police to discuss bone find with City's mayor

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