The municipality has been forced to buy private land in order to establish cemeteries for the rapidly expanding town, with an annual growth rate of around 7%.

The pressing need to find suitable burial grounds has been pinching at the Steve Tshwete Local Municipality, which has been undertaking measures to identify and develop new cemeteries since 2010, while available burial plots in existing cemeteries are rapidly running out.

A self-admittedly cash-strapped municipality will now have to rake out funding to acquire privately-owned land for the development of new cemeteries, after much money and resources were spent on geotechnical investigations, feasibility studies, and sporadic developments of cemeteries on council-owned land.

During a council sitting last Tuesday, councillors were given an update on a motion tabled in November 2024, regarding the identification and development of much-needed burial spaces in and around town.

Middelburg (town), Hendrina/Kwazamokuhle, Doornkop, Somaphepha, Sikululiwe, Rietkuil, Blinkpan, Komati and Pullenshope were all identified as priority areas where burial space is running low.

Despite several portions of land being proposed for each of the aforementioned areas, geotechnical surveys ultimately indicated that only portion 6 of Garsfontein Farm for Hendrina/Kwazamokuhle, and portion 156 of Rondebosch Farm was deemed suitable to service Middelburg, Mhluzi, Nasaret, Rockdale and all other areas within the municipal boundaries.

High-lying rock formations, wetland areas, high water tables, slopes and shallow soil layers deemed all other surveyed sites as unsuitable, including portions of Doornkop, Rietfontein, Keerom, Rondebosch, Springboklaagte, Rietkuil, Koornfontein and Komati.

A suitable site for a cemetery in Pullenshope hit its first snag in 2020, when Eskom backtracked on a land donation after the municipality had already spent R5.5m on fencing and roads.

The council’s pursuit for a second property also led to a dead-end after the Pullenshope site was found unsuitable due to an overhead power line, servitude and wetland.

While portion 156 of Rondebosch Farm is the only suitable site to service Middelburg and surrounding areas, the discovery of a high water table now means that it is unclear for how long the 104 hectare stretch of land could service as interment space.

While several councillors have been vocal about a lack of maintenance at existing cemeteries as the municipality hunts for new ones, complaints of vandalism and damages sustained by flooding and wandering cattle have repeatedly been made in Rondebosch, Phumulong and Nasaret.

With funding already depleted after the erection of fencing at Somaphepha, which is only 80% complete, the municipality acknowledged in last Tuesday’s council sitting that the necessary funding to purchase land is unavailable.

It will, however, continue with identification and pre-feasibility studies, after which, budgets will have to be approved for developments.