‘Illegal burials’ discovered in metro

FAMILIES who bury their loved ones on land that is not officially demarcated and recognised as a cemetery, stand the risk of losing the deceased’s remains forever.

Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality cautions its residents against this practice. Burials that take place in “illegal cemeteries” are not officially recorded by the municipality and are therefore unprotected.

The warning comes after the discovery of an illegal graveyard in Magagula Street in Magagula Heights close to Zonkizizwe.

Several community members had approached one of the metro’s cemetery officers to complain about the condition of their graves, and when he went to inspect these graves, he learned they were located in an unknown cemetery.

A group of undertakers confirmed this at a meeting held with the metro’s parks and cemeteries department in October.

“We suspect that residents have been utilizing the piece of land unlawfully to avoid paying the burial fee at one of the metro’s registered facilities,” says director for parks and cemeteries, Victor Nesengani.

“However, the metro has a range of options available to people who genuinely cannot afford the tariff, including second and third internment burials.”

Nesengani said the metro also charged a much lesser fee to residents who are registered indigents. Those who are not registered can also make a request for indigent burial through their ward councillor to the executive mayor’s office.