Pretoria West crematorium maintenance drags on

Despite beginning maintenance work on July 14 2023, the Pretoria West crematorium has remained nonfunctional to this day.

The Tshwane metro indicated last year that the furnaces needed thorough maintenance to meet environmental compliance standards and requirements so closed the facility.

The closure was part of the city’s annual maintenance programme yet today, the work on the furnaces remains uncompleted.

“The City is currently working on processes that relate to maintenance of furnace 2 which failed during the first maintenance programme. The City is doing its utmost best to ensure compliance aimed at enabling GDARD (Gauteng department of agriculture, rural development & environment) to reinstate the licence which was suspended last year,” said metro spokesperson, Selby Bokaba.

The metro said last year that the gas used and emissions must be within acceptable standards before service can resume. The original maintenance was scheduled for around August 2023, though now, the metro cannot indicate the date for the reopening.

“We will make a public announcement as soon as all the processes have been completed,” Bokaba said.

Being the only crematory owned by the metro in all of Tshwane, Rebecca Street is a common choice for people who require the service. The closure has especially inconvenienced members of the Hindu faith, as well as other residents in the area. The metro could not indicate if it was planning to build another one.

The crematorium offers the following:

– Cremation service

– Reopening of a grave for burial of ashes

– Placement of ashes in the wall of remembrance or ash berm

– Tombstone application

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