Municipality warns of R10m fine for illegal burials

RESIDENTS in KwaDukuza Municipality have been warned against burying human remains in unregistered cemeteries as they can be fined R10 million or face 10 years imprisonment.

The North Coast municipality confirmed yesterday that it had issued a public notice about the issue as it had noticed a trend of illegal burials taking place.

“The public notice serves to notify the community that burials are not allowed in areas that have not been designated and approved by the municipality as legitimate cemeteries,” reads the notice.

It further advised the public that it was a criminal offence to bury human remains in unregistered cemeteries.

“Burials are guarded by the National Health

Act and National Environmental Management Act. Any burial undertaken outside the legitimate guidelines and approval is deemed illegal, and non-compliance will result in a fine,” the notice reads.

Explaining the dangers of such an act, the municipality said toxins from dead bodies infiltrated the soil and could contaminate groundwater and water used for drinking.

The municipality said that toxins were also a threat to the health of local residents and animals.

Speaking to The Mercury, municipality spokesperson Sipho Mkhize said many communities, especially in the rural areas and townships, were conducting burials in their backyards.

“Many people are moving into areas under the municipality, and where they come from they were living in a different customary set-up where backyard burials were allowed. The municipality prohibits burials on a residential property. For a cemetery (to be declared), a study needs to be done on the land to ensure that the place is in the right condition and there won’t be any repercussions to the environment No matter how many properties you have, once the person has passed on, you cannot use your yard for burial,” said Mkhize.

He added that a resident would struggle to sell a house when there were graves on the premises, and said the municipality had designated cemeteries that the public could use. “This is like dumping, we do not allow that under the municipality as we have people who collect the waste.”

As part of the notice, the municipality also said it was working around the clock to resolve the shortage of burial sites.

It said it was acquiring additional sites and offering cremation as an alternative to burial.

Mkhize admitted that the shortage of burial sites was a concern after one of their biggest sites reached its capacity recently.

He said the municipality had established a new site, Vlakspruit Cemetery, based in the southern part of the town, which would accommodate more than 30 000 burials. However, he said most of the community living in the northern part of the municipality, near Kwa Maphumulo, had complained that the cemetery was too far from them and they wanted a closer site.

“We are looking at where we can get land up north for a cemetery. However, there is a lot of environmental work that has to go on first.”

Mkhize said burials at the cemetery were free if the family produced a letter from a councillor stating their indigent status, and for those who did not produce the letter, a payment of not more than R150 was required.

“This is like dumping, we do not allow that under the municipality Sipho Mkize MUNICIPALITY SPOKESPERSON