- Rebecca Street Crematorium, Pretoria's only state-run crematorium, has ceased to function from June 2023.
- Residents use crematoriums in Krugersdorp and Brixton, Johannesburg.
- The city said it was closed for maintenance but could not give a reopening date.
Pretoria residents claim the City of Tshwane is not showing respect to the deceased as the only state-run crematorium has been closed for almost a year.
“For a grieving family to have to drive for more than an hour for a burial is unrealistic and intolerable,” Laudium resident Himal Ramji told News24.
Rebecca Street Crematorium has been closed since June.
Last year, the City of Tshwane said the furnace required thorough maintenance to meet environmental compliance standards.
According to the city's renovation schedule, the first wave of renovations was scheduled to be completed by November 2023 and the second by April 2024, but neither deadline was met.
waiting in line
“Dating back to 2009, the crematorium has had several issues and has been intermittently out of order, but this is the longest period in which the crematorium has been out of order,” Ramsey said. Told.
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He added that residents had to travel more than 100km to Krugersdorp or Brixton to send off their loved ones with dignity.
“This is a service that local governments should provide,” he said, noting that the delays were costing residents money and time.
“We are waiting in the funeral line like a supermarket with pushcarts,” said Hasmukh Nicha, another resident.
City of Tshwane spokesperson Selby Bokaba told News24 that repairing the furnace required more resources than expected.
But he said the city was working tirelessly to meet the necessary environmental compliance standards, adding that reopening the crematorium was a priority.
He couldn't make a date.