City opens new cemetery in the South of Joburg
This week, Johannesburg City Parks and Zoo, together with religious representatives from various faiths officially opened the new 400 hectare Olifantsvlei Cemetery in the South of Joburg.
The cemetery will accommodate over 800 000 new burial spaces for the next 50 to 70 years. This is based on Joburg’s exponentially growing populace and the projected mortality and burial trends in the City of Joburg.
The City of Joburg currently has 33 formal cemeteries. This includes 29 passive cemeteries and four active cemeteries. The four active cemeteries are the new Olifantsvlei Cemetery, Westpark Cemetery which has space for the next eight years, Diepsloot Cemetery for the next 20 years and the Waterfall Cemetery in Midrand, for the next 30 to 40 years.
The 29 passive or dormant cemeteries, including Avalon, Lenasia, Alexandra and Newclare cemeteries are being used by families for second and third burials of family members, as these cemeteries have reached full capacity for primary burials.
The Chairperson of the Section 79 Committee for Community Development in the City of Joburg, Councillor Meshack van Wyk, delivered the keynote address on behalf of MMC for Community Development, Cllr Nonhlanhla Sifumba, who had taken a leave of absence due to ill health.
Cllr Van Wyk stated that: “There has been an average of 85 burials per week at the new Olifantsvlei Cemetery with over 3 900 burials in total since the first burial on 26 November 2016”.
The cemetery currently caters for over 75% of the burials being undertaken in the City of Joburg. The opening of the cemetery is another way the City is providing service to the forgotten residents of Johannesburg.
Olifantsvlei Cemetery is retained in a pristine condition throughout the year by a dedicated maintenance team and is fully fenced with two access points to alleviate traffic congestions. The entrances to the cemetery is guarded by a private 24-hour security presence while random security checks will be undertaken to retain the sanctity of the cemetery.
Councillor Van Wyk appealed to residents’ and mourners to respect the sanctity of the cemetery by reporting suspicious activity committed by vandals in the city’s cemeteries, and urged funeral directors and religious leaders to explore lasting solutions for the optimal use of the city’s existing cemeteries.
For more information, please contact:
Kutlwano Olifant
Stakeholder Manager: Office of the MMC for Community Development
081 4347 417
KutlwanoO@joburg.org.za
Or
Jenny Moodley
General Manager: Stakeholder and Public Relations
Johannesburg City Parks and Zoo
082 803 0748
jmoodley@jhbcityparks.com
