Mfuleni residents say they need a new cemetery to replace the closed Extension 4 graveyard. Photo by Masixole Feni.
27 January 2016
Mfuleni Extension 4 residents complain that they have to travel long distances for burials because their main cemetery has been closed since 2005.
Resident and community leader Mzoli Matutu said loved ones had to be buried “all the way in Khayelitsha, Eerste Rivier or Strand which is a distance.”
“There is land available in Mfuleni for another graveyard and there was a project initiated in 2010 to carry out the new graveyard, but nothing happened,” he said
Another resident who owns a funeral parlour in the area said transport was a problem for families.
“Most times the family cannot afford to pay money for petrol to transport the body. In situations like these you cannot say no to people and you end up paying from your own pocket, and we cannot keep a body for more than three weeks.
“And in general, people like to bury their loved ones where they grew up or lived. Mfuleni people want to be buried in Mfuleni, not Khayelitsha or Eerste River,” he said.
Belinda Walker, Mayoral Committee Member for Community Services and Special Projects confirmed that the Extension 4 cemetery had been closed in 2005 because of “high water table conditions,” and Mfuleni’s second cemetery, in Tokwana Street, was open for second burials only, “as there is no more space for new grave sites.”
“Land has been earmarked nearby at what is currently referred to as the proposed Metro South-East Cemetery. The land is on the southern edge of Mfuleni on the opposite side of Old Faure Road close to its intersection with Eerste River Way,” said Walker.
Walker said work was due to start in the 2016/17 financial year if planning and development approval was given.
She said there were 40 cemeteries in the City of Cape Town of which 20 were full or “inactive”. This year, extensions were planned to Delft, Atlantis and Welmoed Cemeteries and a new cemetery would be opened at Vaalfontein in Somerset West.
“We very seldom close cemeteries, unless further burials cannot be accommodated due to high water table conditions. Families who have private graves in a municipal cemetery are entitled to exercise their rights to second burials, whereby an additional burial is accommodated within an existing grave site,” Walker said.
“In a second burial, the coffin can be buried on top of an existing coffin, but this option is subject to certain conditions,” said Walker.