Lala Ngoxolo Crematorium remains closed after two years despite promises from Ekurhuleni

by Cllr. Pieter Henning — DA Councillor for Ward 25 in Ekurhuleni

Date: 15 September 2021

Release: Immediate

Type: Media statement

The ANC-led coalition* in the City of Ekurhuleni has once again let residents down by failing to repair the crematorium at the Lala Ngoxolo Cemetery in Benoni, despite committing to doing so on numerous occasions.

The Department of Parks and Cemeteries closed the facility back in August 2019, due to the cremators being in a state of complete disrepair. As expected, the closure of the crematorium has caused a great deal of inconvenience to various communities and undertakers who now have to travel further distances to alternative facilities, at greater costs, to lay their loved ones to rest.

According to the Department, R10 000 was initially budgeted for the development and upgrade of cemeteries in the Benoni East area (Ward 73) for the 2020/21 Financial Year.

The Department subsequently requested a third party service provider from the Enterprise Project Management Office within the City of Ekurhuleni’s (CoE) structures, to start planning for the abovementioned upgrades.

The specific Item concerning the Lala Ngoxolo Crematorium thereafter served in September 2020 and sought the following:

· The refurbishment of existing cremators

· The refurbishment of the existing coffin cold room

· New cremators

· New coffin cold rooms

· Installation of a backup gas tank

· Alterations to the existing building to accommodate the new and refurbished cremators

A tender for the above work was issued by the CoE for a period of 40 days and closed on the 11th of December 2020, after which the successful bidder would be appointed. Close to a year later, this has still not been done, with the latest feedback from the Department from June 2021, indicating that the supply chain process had not been concluded. This means that a contractor has yet to be confirmed while residents are yet again being let down by the Department’s incompetent processes.

An initial promise to have the Crematorium in working order by the end of September is a pipe dream, with the Department providing no date as to when the facility will be operational.

The DA finds the drawing out of the repair to the crematorium unacceptable. Over two years have passed since the facility was closed, while residents and undertakers alike continue to have to make inconvenient alternative arrangements to use crematoriums outside of their communities. This has become increasingly problematic in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic which has ravaged our communities and placed added importance on cremator facilities.

The DA will continue to apply pressure and hold the Metro to account in conducting repairs to the crematorium. It is unfathomable that the Department, under MMC for Environmental Resource and Waste Management Services, Ald Khosi Mabaso, can let this go on for so long and in the process depriving residents of the opportunity to pay their loved ones their final respects.

#Time4Change

*ANC Coalition Partners: African Independent Congress (AIC), Pan Africanist Congress (PAC), Patriotic Alliance (PA) and Independent Ratepayers Association of South Africa (IRASA)

Cllr. Pieter Henning

DA Councillor in Ward 25 Ekurhuleni