Community leaders outraged by the closure of Mobeni Heights Crematorium
THE closure of the Mobeni Heights Crematorium yet again, has sparked outrage among community leaders in Chatsworth and funeral service providers.
They have accused the eThekwini Municipality of 'gross apathy' for not managing the facility properly.
On Monday, funeral service providers were notified by the manager at the crematorium that the facility had been shut-down after the municipality had allegedly failed to renew the Air Emission Licence (AEL).
eThekwini Municipality spokesperson, Gugu Sisilana, said the closure of the crematorium was due to the poor performance of the furnace. This, she said, was attributed to the control unit malfunctioning.
It impacted on the facility's ability to cremate within the parameters of the AEL, and the closure was enforced despite the AEL being valid until January 31, 2026, she added.
Sisilana said the crematorium would be reopened once the proposed upgrade was completed and compliant with all legislative requirements.
'The upgrade of the crematorium is funded in the 2025/2026 financial year and would focus on the replacement of the furnace and a building upgrade of the 'pyramid' portion of the facility. Any changes would require permission from the Department of Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs (EDTEA) and final approval by other role players,' she added.
She said the crematorium had two furnaces, both of which were not operational.
'The upgrade would replace the oldest furnace with a locally manufactured and maintained unit. The new unit will comply with the latest legislation required to operate a crematorium.
'The second furnace that was commissioned in 2021 would undergo a refurbishment, including the control unit to latest industrial standards and norms to be fully compliant with all legislative requirements,' Sisilana added.
Rocky Naidoo, chairperson of the Chatsworth and District Civic Federation, said they would challenge the municipality in court if it did not find a solution to get the facility up and running again.
He said every year, the crematorium was faced with different issues, including broken incinerators and furnaces which did not work.
'The municipality is messing around with the community they were tasked to serve. Last year, we were told that the budget was approved for the 2024/5 period and that the facility would be fully operational. We were assured by Tim Arbuckle, the head of crematoriums for the municipality, that the incinerators would be operational within that period.
'But they are dragging their feet. The incinerators have not been working efficiently for well over 10 years. The communities are deprived of a valuable much needed service. You cannot have a citation where we encourage people to cremate their loved ones in view of the shortage of burial space, but not have the services,' he added.
Naidoo said the community was paying the price for the lack of service delivery from the city.
'We believe that the service delivery is non-existent in predominantly Indian areas like Chatsworth. This is evident in the lack of response for the ongoing issues the community faces.
'We hope that we are not going to hear the same excuses, that the money will come from the budget in the 2025/26 period next year. The crematorium will become a rusting relic if left to the municipality,' Naidoo added.
Clive Moodley, President of the Progressive Funeral Practitioners Association (Profpa), said for years the municipality had proven they were unable to properly manage the crematorium.
'This is just another show of negligence by the city. We have made a number of proposals to them, including for the crematorium to be privatised so that the facility could be refurbished. But they do not want to do that or fix it.'
Moodley said an air emission certificate not being renewed was an indication that the city did not have their operations under control.
'How can they fail to renew a licence for a facility that is already in dire need of repairs? This shows that they do not care about the people. We will join the civic association to take the municipality to court if they do not prioritise the crematorium repairs,' he said.
Lenny Reddy, from Wyebank Funeral Services, said: 'Families are facing significant delays in arranging funerals and there is great uncertainty with this latest closure. This causes emotional distress and financial hardship for those affected by death. I urge the relevant authorities to provide interim solutions or emergency funds to address the crematorium's closure. We too will join the civic association to hold the city accountable.'
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