City out of burial space by next June
THERE will be no space left for graves in and around Durban by June next year.
This was confirmed by eThekwini’s Head of Parks, Recreation and Culture, Thembinkosi Ngcobo on the sidelines of the Greening Summit held in the city this week.
Ngcobo said that by the end of the year only 13 of the 65 cemeteries would have any available space.
“Redhill is nearly out of space, Luganda will run out by the end of October and Etafuleni and Inanda will run out by the end of November.
“By June next year, eThekwini will have run out of burial space and won’t be able to take any more funerals.”
He said he had sent a written report to eThekwini’s Executive Committee for consideration next month.
“We can’t recycle graves and this is a very serious problem. It takes a lot of time to educate people about cremation.”
He highlighted that Loon Road Cemetery in Sherwood, which has been closed for a number of years, was being revamped as a pilot project, saying, “We want to extend this pilot project to other cemeteries that have been closed and we will be looking at the oldest ones first.”
Chairman of KwaZuluNatal Funeral Directors’ Association, Logan Chetty, said education about cremation was urgently needed.
“There are 550 000 graves in eThekwini and a number of people still want burials. How do you do this without space?
“Land is needed for housing, so do you provide land for graves or housing?
“The municipality also needs to give this matter priority attention.
“And the number of crematoriums also needs to be extended – one is needed in Phoenix and another on the South Coast.
“At present, Mobeni Heights only has one furnace working and can only do three cremations a day, but there are 10 funerals a day,” said Chetty
The issue of fast depleting burial space also comes amid national calls for regulation in the funeral industry.
This comes after allegations of bodies being held for ransom and sky-high profit margins by unscrupulous, fly-bynight funeral operators.
“In one recent case, an undertaker took a body from Albert Luthuli Hospital and charged the family R1 800 just to move the body.
“He was not registered and did not even have a funeral parlour, just a vehicle to move bodies.
“Overseas undertakers have to be accredited and undergo proper training,” said Chetty.
This week, the Funeral Industry Regulatory Authority has proposed that an ombudsman be appointed to regulate the industry along with a code of conduct.
Executive chairman Johan Rousseau said there was a “desperate need” for regulation in the industry. Atrocities committed by fly-by-night undertakers reported to authorities were in “their hundreds, if not thousands”.