Unrest under the undertakers

Expert funeral consultant, Johan Rousseau, has had to jump to rescue another undertaker’s business after it received notice to close its doors.

The notice given to Anmor Funerals on Monday, 15 August follows a complaint by other funeral parlours in Krugersdorp, and an article that was published in a national publication about an incident that occurred earlier this year.

A misunderstanding between a mourning family, two funeral parlours and a local mortuary saw a complaint being laid at the Mogale City Local Municipality about the alleged mishaps at the parlour.

For some time, rumours of illegal trade and misconduct within the funeral industry in Krugersdorp, which ranged from unregistered companies and non-compliant mortuaries to the alleged race between parlours to get bodies to the graves, have been making the rounds.

Rousseau, who has worked in the industry for 30 years, has been appointed as the Executive Chairperson of the Funeral Industry Regulatory Authority (Fira), which will act as the Ombudsman for the funeral industry.

Rousseau explained the grey areas in the funeral regulations. “Cemeteries, funeral parlours and crematoriums are local government functions that are performed by local municipalities. These powers and functions are assigned to local government in terms of sections 156 and 229 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996. However, these sections seem to have been neglected, which is a serious oversight by municipalities. The regulation of the funeral industry is the sole responsibility of municipalities in conjunction with other key pillars of government, such as the Departments of Health, Home Affairs, Environment, Labour, Water and Sanitation, and the Financial Services Board.”

Rousseau said during research he conducted with the South African Council of Churches he identified that there is no standard legislation within local government that oversees and defines a variety of laws within South Africa, thus the urgent need to incorporate the laws into one single law.

“It is a serious concern, because the gaps and challenges which have been identified have never been added into our national laws and by-laws.”

He said inspectors, funeral staff and the general public are exposed to deadly and highly infectious diseases such as tuberculosis and hepatitis B.

“It is of utmost importance that the South African Qualifications Authority ensures that all training material is aligned to legislation, which is currently not the case within the funeral industry. As a result thereof, neither the inspectors nor the rest of the industry are adequately trained and discussions have been unsuccessful,” Rousseau explained.

“If we were to implement the regulations attached to the Constitution, we would have to close down most of the funeral parlours, undertakers and even the state mortuaries around town.”

He said Fira will advise municipalities regarding the regulation of funeral parlours and the grey areas and assist with bringing all the parlours up to standard.

“Thank you to Johan and the West Rand District Municipality for their swift assistance in the matter. We are ready to serve the community, as our doors are open again and will remain open,” owner of Anmor, Ansie Engelbrecht, said.

Also Read:

Cemetery dwellers still homeless

Community greets another biker