Furnaces at Mobeni Heights still not functional

PROBLEMS at Mobeni Heights Crematorium may be far from over as the eThekwini Municipality has yet to find a suitable operator for the furnaces.

This was revealed yesterday at the city’s executive committee (Exco) meeting.

Dr Musa Gumede, eThekwini’s deputy city manager for community and emergency services, said the municipality had put out a tender for the furnaces, but the three bidders did not meet its requirements.

Over the past few years Mobeni Heights Crematorium has experienced problems with its furnaces, forcing people from Chatsworth and surrounding areas to go as far as oThongathi to cremate their loved ones’ remains.

Gumede said they had tried to find various solutions by seeking advice from cities around the country, but were unsuccessful.

He said they had learnt that eThekwini Municipality had the highest number of people using crematoriums.

The city would have to put out another tender to try to find someone who would meet their standards, he said.

The last time the tender went out was in December.

Clive Moodley, of Pinetown Funeral Services, said they had lost all hope that the furnaces would be fixed.

He said what angered him was that fixing the furnaces was a relatively straightforward process like fixing a car engine.

“It was the people of Chatsworth who suffered the most.

“People generally don’t factor in things like transportation costs,” he said.

Poor families

Moodley said a large number of those cremated were pensioners from poor families who could not afford to pay high funeral costs, which meant the funeral parlours would have to foot the bill.

“If it (the municipality) can’t handle it, it should privatise it,” Moodley said.

He felt there were other private crematoriums that were doing a better job.

He said they were taking bodies to Clare Estate now for cremation and had had many discussions with the municipality and councillors on the issue, to no avail.

The Daily News has published many articles on the problems at the crematorium and how mourners had to make alternative arrangements when the furnaces at Mobeni Heights were not working.

Sharon Hoosen, the DA’s chief whip at Exco, said: “The Mobeni Heights Crematorium’s non-functional furnaces are no way near a resolution.

“The community of Chatsworth and surrounding areas have been misled by the city since 2014, when problems of the furnace being non-functional became an issue.

“A previous report gave the community hope that the furnace would be fixed by June this year.

Clearly the process has to start over.”

Because of the high cost of private cremations, Hoosen said it was “inconsiderate” of the municipality not to fix the furnaces.

“The residents of Chatsworth are being ignored and are struggling financially to cremate their loved ones,” she said.