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'Pay up or I will remove tombstone from grave'

The ANC Youth League allegedly owes a Limpopo funeral parlour R55000 for the funeral of a Congress of South African Students secretary.

Now the owner of the funeral parlour is threatening to remove the tombstone if payment is not forthcoming.

The youth league allegedly offered to pay for the burial of Limpopo Cosas secretary Risenga Shibambo, who died last year.

The owner of the funeral parlour, who did not want to be named for fear of losing future business, confirmed that he had provided the funeral service for R30000 and a tombstone which cost R25000.

"The problem is that each time I call I'm given the run-around and no one seems to care," he said.

According to Shibambo's relatives, the ANCYL volunteered to pay for the funeral and tombstone.

But a year later the league has not paid the funeral parlour. Shibambo, 26, died on April 10 last year.

He was buried in his home village of Bolahlakgomo in Zebediela near Lebowakgomo a week later.

Shibambo's older brother, Joe, told Sowetan yesterday that the family was angry with the league for failing to honour its promise.

"When my younger brother died, no one approached the ANCYL to assist with the funeral.

" They offered to assist us, and now this," said Joe Shibambo.

"The funeral undertaker keeps calling us to demand payment. We cannot pay him because no one in the family is employed."

He said not only did the ANCYL owe the undertaker, he claimed that they owed local shops R2500 for groceries for the funeral.

Approached for comment yesterday, the league's provincial coordinator Mosa Chabane said they were under the impression that payment had been sorted out.

"We honestly thought payment towards the burial of Comrade Risenga Shibambo had been effected. We're working on it to ensure it's sorted," Chabane said.

frankm@sowetan.co.za

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