LIMPOPO – The new municipal graveyard by-law in Greater Giyani Municipality is not meant to punish the poor, but to manage space in the cemeteries, according to municipal spokesperson Steve Mavunda.

The by-law, which the municipality began implementing on October 30, is not new, but an improvement from the one introduced last year, which generated significant attention among the community of Giyani.

It was, therefore, halted until it was reviewed and corrected to meet the community’s needs.

New by-law aims to manage graveyard space

The revised by-law bans the erection of shelters or the fencing of graves, as these take up more space than what is allocated.

The by-law requires residents to present a plan or design of their tombstones for municipal approval before installation. “This is not meant to punish the poor or increase revenue, but purely to manage space at the graveyard,” Mavunda said.

He explained that the municipality only charges people who install tombstones costing more than R20 000, and that anything equal to or below that is free.

“When we first introduced this by-law, we charged everyone the same amount. Now the revised by-law considers the value of the tombstone, because that relates to its size,” he said.

According to Mavunda, tombstones costing between R20 001 and R50 000 will be charged R1 260, while those costing above R50 000 will be charged R2 519.

“So, you can see that the poor are catered for here. No poor person can install a tombstone that costs R50 000,” he said.

Fencing and shelters banned

“Our view is that the more expensive the tombstone, the more space it usually takes, and we want to save space because we are running out,” he added.

Mavunda explained that the grave site dimensions mentioned in the new by-law are not new, but help ensure that people do not exceed their allocated space. “This is why we completely banned the fencing of graves or erecting structures on top of graves,” he said.

When asked about possible red tape in the submission of tombstone design plans, Mavunda said there would be none, as the process would be incorporated into the existing application for a grave site and approved on the same day.

“People will go through the same process they used when applying for a grave site. The only difference now is that they will be required to present a designed plan of their tombstone in the form of an invoice,” he explained.

“This will allow the municipality to categorise tombstones accordingly and allocate charges if necessary. But the whole process will be approved upfront, with no waiting for days for approval,” he said.