Burial fees row deepens as residents threaten backyard funerals

Families say the Thembisile Hani local municipality charges for dignity it cannot deliver, as cemeteries crumble under neglect. Picture Nigel Sibanda/The Citizen The Thembisile Hani local municipality in Mpumalanga has defended its contentious cemetery tariffs, arguing that the fees are necessary to improve deteriorating burial sites. But residents have since vowed to defy the cemetery tariffs, warning they would rather bury their loved ones in their own backyards than pay the disputed fees.

It was agreed at a civic meeting held on Thursday that the tariffs would be boycotted and that the residents would rather conduct backyard burials. “This plot does not belong to the municipality. They can keep their cemetery.

I am not paying cent… I will be buried in my yard,” a fuming 67-year-old Msongelwa Ntuli, from Moloto, said, pointing to the ground. Last month, the municipality published its cemetery fees: R185.24 per adult grave, R92.62 for a child and R648.35 for grave-digging services. Municipal manager Dumisani Mahlangu said the cemetery charges are governed by municipal by-laws and national legislation, including the Constitution and the Local Government Municipal Systems Act.

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He said these laws give local governments the responsibility to regulate burial sites and set tariffs in a manner that is “fair and sustainable”. Mahlangu explained that the fees were intended to fund long-overdue improvements at neglected graveyards. “The payable tariff allows the municipality to improve and maintain the cemeteries…There are currently unfenced cemeteries with no ablution facilities or a burial register,” he said. Mahlangu conceded that several graveyards lacked basic infrastructure but said the municipality was working towards providing more dignified burial services.

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