The Health Department in the Umzinyathi District says they are not severely affected by corpses not being claimed by family members in the district, where government mortuaries are overcrowded.
A spokesperson from the Umzinyathi District office (who did not want to be named) explained the procedure to the Courier.
A pauper burial will be held after six months; the Health Department will apply to their local municipality for a grave and the funeral parlour has a contract to bury the deceased in the area.

Every year, tenders are advertised in local newspapers for services to be rendered, with pauper burials paid for by the state.
This issue came to the fore after reports of hundreds of unclaimed bodies piling up in mortuaries in the province.
Dr Imran Keeka, DA spokesperson for Health, said it should be understood that the province is not responsible for burials, but for storage, until all processes are completed.

“Where the wheels fall off is when the SAPS, DNA sampling and municipalities don’t come to the party.
“This includes delays by investigating officers, DNA identification and clearing the backlog, families that don’t come forward, and not enough being done by municipalities whose responsibility it is to ensure burials of unclaimed bodies.
“If burials or cremations are undertaken, where processes are incomplete, this may hamper ongoing investigations and ultimately justice.
“This in itself will be disrespectful to the deceased and their families.

“It is indeed a sad and worrisome situation, and it is horrendous that it has been going on for so long.”
He added that there have been discussions between the South African Police Service and its laboratories, municipalities and families to find closure in this matter.
“If KZN’s Department of Health will not take the initiative to reduce the existing backlogs, that engagement must be initiated at the portfolio committee level to bind those responsible with deadlines to ensure finality,” said the DA spokesperson for Health.

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