Corpses stack up in Bay mortuaries
Burial of paupers held up by objection over awarding of tender
THE bodies of paupers have been piling up in state mortuaries around Nelson Mandela Bay since December due to a dispute between the municipality and the firms that tendered for the contract to bury them.
There are about 49 corpses lying in state mortuaries.
Twenty-five of the bodies had been there for more than 30 days, while the applications for pauper funerals for 24 other bodies were pending, Eastern Cape health department spokesman Sizwe Kupelo said.
“Before you bury, you must look for the relatives of the people, so some of the applications are pending,” he said.
While the state mortuaries – in Gelvandale, Mount Road and New Brighton – are the worst affected, some private funeral homes have also had people struggling to pay for funerals of family members without help from the city.
The metro said it had processed 15 applications from the public but could not assist financially because of the dispute over the tender award.
It hopes to get assistance from the provincial health department to be able to bury some of the people whose families have approached it for financial assistance.
The burial debacle stems from an objection lodged by one of the companies that tendered for the contract – NQK Communications and Consulting.
According to papers seen by The Herald, NQK Communications was disqualified because of a typing error in its competence certificate, which it blames on the municipality.
NQK was the lowest bidder among the three companies vying for the tender.
Until the tender issue is resolved, the municipality cannot provide the crucial service.
Municipal spokesman Mthubanzi Mniki confirmed that the metro was experiencing challenges with pauper burials.
“[The city is] currently unable to assist as the award of the tender is delayed by an objection in terms of the supply chain management regulations,” Mniki said.
“It is an issue of compliance that we must follow all the processes in relation to supply chain management processes.”
Kupelo said: “The department is currently facing challenges with both Nelson Mandela Bay and Sarah Baartman municipalities.
“In Nelson Mandela Bay, the issue of the awarding of the service provider is pending since the expiry date of the old tender in November.”
He said the Makana and Koukamma municipalities – which are within the Sarah Baartman district – were struggling to bury paupers due to budget constraints.
Meanwhile, some families have been trying to raise funds to bury their loved ones.
Ncediwe Moos, from KwaNobuhle, and her family did not have the means to bury her uncle, who died at a mental institution in January. Moos said her uncle relied on social grants for survival and did not have a funeral policy.
“We approached our councillor, who made an application with the municipality, but nothing ever came from it,” she said.
Moos said family members had managed to raise the money between them to give her uncle a decent send-off.
New Brighton funeral parlour owner Odwa Duru, from Odwa Duru Funeral Services, was saddled with the body of a woman from New Brighton for about four weeks, waiting on the municipality to assist with the funeral.
He could not wait any longer and eventually decided to bury the woman for free.
Duru took to Facebook last week to express his disappointment with the municipality for not assisting the destitute family. He
The issue . . . is pending since the expiry date of the old tender in November
said he had met an official from the municipality in the mayor’s office who said the body would be taken from him and placed with the city.
“After two weeks [and no word] from the municipality, I proposed to the family to allow me to bury the deceased, but the family asked me to wait because they were confident they would receive assistance.”
After four weeks, he told the family he would bury the woman because it was weighing on his heart.
He said he could see there was no way the family could afford a funeral unless they resorted to loan sharks, which he did not want because the family was vulnerable.
Duru urged people to get funeral cover.
Funeral business Vantyi and Vantyi manager Vuyo Vantyi said they had been assisting families where they could as they were struggling to get help from the city.
Vantyi and Vantyi held the last three-year contract to bury paupers.
“It does happen that we have bodies sitting and they can’t be buried because families don’t have money,” Vantyi said.
“We try to see how to assist them where we can, but we also refer them to the municipality because it needs to know the urgency of resolving this matter and awarding the tender.”
Ward 46 councillor Lindiwe Qukubana said two families had approached her office for assistance.
“The municipality told me they couldn’t help these families due to an objection in the tender,” she said.
“Luckily, one family was able to raise funds and have a funeral, and I think the other family took out a loan.”
Qukubana said it was unfortunate that there was a problem because people blamed the councillors and did not understand that there was a hold-up with the tender award.
Public health portfolio head Lance Grootboom said he had asked officials in his department about the problem and when it would be resolved. He said the delay was unacceptable.
“The reason why we’re sitting without a service provider is poor planning from the directorate because they’re supposed to extend that contract timeously,” Grootboom said.
ANC councillor and public health portfolio committee member Nontuthuzelo Skweyiya expressed concern for those who did not receive assistance from the municipality.
“What is the city doing to resolve this issue because our people are sitting in their homes unable to bury their loved ones.
“I want a clear report on pauper’s burials and the reasons for the delays,” Skweyiya said.
During the public health committee meeting, councillors tried raising the issue with Grootboom, but he said the matter was not on the agenda. – Additional reporting by Rochelle de Kock