Mogale City introduces new burial practices

The West Haven Cemetery is now ready to serve the communities of Mindalore and its surroundings, but the municipality introduced new burial practices.

According to Mogale City Local Municipality (MCLM) communication officer Refilwe Mahlangu, as the municipality prepares for its opening on March 5, it would like to inform residents about an important update regarding burial practices at this new facility and in all new sections of other active cemeteries currently managed by the city.

To ensure that cemeteries remain well-maintained, visually appealing, and accessible, the municipality will permit only the installation of vertical headstones on graves.

This new approach offers several benefits, including:

• Improve safety and security
• It makes it easy to maintain the cemetery using ride-on lawnmowers, walk-behind lawnmowers or tractors instead of brush cutters
• Saves time, money and labour on maintenance
• Keeps the cemetery clean, neat and aesthetically pleasing

Mahlangu added the municipality previously allowed for traditional burial practices, which included full tombstones with headstones, concrete or granite slabs, kerning, and decorative elements but while these practices hold cultural significance, they have posed considerable maintenance challenges.

“Full tombstones make terrain upkeep more difficult, requiring labour-intensive and costly methods such as brush cutters and time-consuming alternatives like walk-behind lawnmowers. By implementing this change, Mogale City aims to balance tradition with sustainability, ensuring cemeteries remain a dignified place of remembrance and well-maintained for future generations. To engage with the community, the Environmental Management team will also be hosting critical information sessions to address any concerns that residents may have and raise awareness of the newly proposed method.”

Details of these sessions are available on Mogale City’s website.