Crematorium remains shut
In a recent visit to the facility, a group of men hired by a contractor were found working and new cremators had been installed.
Local funeral directors continue to dig deep into their pockets to book cremations as far as Witbank, Brixton and Lenasia crematoriums because of the prolonged closure of the Lala Ngoxolo Crematorium in Crystal Park.
Services at the facility have been halted for years after the crematorium, operated by the Ekurhuleni metro, faced several serious issues. These included insufficient gas supply, inferior cremators and cremators that could not accommodate an oversized coffin.
The site also encountered issues with its newly installed cremators, which posed health and safety risks.
To forge a way forward, various funeral directors and officials from the Ekurhuleni Environmental Resources and Waste Management Department attended a meeting in September 2022.
There, it was revealed that it could take about 12 months for the facility to be fully operational again, but this has not happened.
Multi-million rand upgrade
Metro spokesperson Zweli Dlamini said the facility will reopen as soon as the metro receives the Atmospheric Emissions Licence (AEL) – a permit required to operate a crematorium issued by the Gauteng Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (GDARD).
He said the crematorium is undergoing renovations, including refurbishing the existing cremators, the supply and delivery of new cremators, and refurbishing the coffin cold room at an estimated cost of R9.7m.
Following up on the matter, last June, the Benoni City Times received a response from the metro stating it had received the valid AEL.
“The Crystal Park Lala Ngoxolo Crematorium was reopened on June 5 last year for silent cremations only. Silent cremations are conducted without the presence of the family, who may then hold a service elsewhere.”
Renovations
Dlamini elaborated on the ongoing renovations.
“The renovation of the crematorium is on track with the completion of the refurbishment of the coffin cold room and two existing cremators.
“The construction for the building extension is in the procurement stage.
“Furthermore, installing two new cremators is underway, with about 75% of the manufacturing process already completed.
“The renovation progress aligns with the planned timeline and objectives,” said Dlamini.
Last October, the newspaper visited the crematorium to investigate whether the facility is operating and found, to our surprise, that its doors were closed.
A woman on-site revealed that the facility had not functioned for a long time.
There was a work crew inside and new cremators had been installed.
According to Manesh Govender of Rand Funerals, the facility was operational around June to July but was closed again due to renovations.
“The closure of the facility is continuing to affect us financially. We are forced to use other crematoriums, such as in Brixton, daily,” said Govender.
Meanwhile, a press release released by Monique Kriek of the VF Plus stated that during a council meeting on January 25, no solution was found to allow the crematorium to function fully.
The matter was apparently referred to the metro’s Department of Environmental Resources and Waste Management for the third time.
We await comment from the metro on the latest developments.
Also Read: WATCH: Metro working on reopening Crystal Park crematorium
Also Read: Closure of Crystal Park crematorium a concern
