Westpark Cemetery is expected to reach maximum capacity in four months.
As it is, the cemetery is currently limiting burials to 15 interments per week.
Johannesburg City Parks and Zoo (JCPZ), said as urban populations grow, available cemetery space diminishes.
City Parks’ Jenny Moodley said “we face significant challenges in maintaining sufficient burial space for future generations.”
Therefore, the City of Johannesburg (CoJ) is scouting for land for new cemetery sites.
“We are committed to working with the City of Johannesburg and relevant stakeholders to secure land that can help alleviate pressure on our existing cemeteries and cater for future burial needs in the next 4 to 5 decades.”
City Parks is urging residents to explore alternative interment options to reduce the strain on limited burial spaces.
” We recognize the importance of these decisions and want to ensure that families make informed choices.
Some families have opted to reopen existing graves to inter-loved ones from the same family. This practice preserves valuable burial space and helps mitigate the rising long-term costs of installing additional headstones and maintaining large tracts of dormant cemeteries at huge costs to the ratepayer” said Moodley.
The Westpark Cemetery, has been a significant part of our community’s burial services since 1956.
For more information or to discuss alternative burial options, please contact the head of Cemeteries and Crematoria, Mr. Azola Manyati, at 073 891 6933 or at the City Parks Head Office on 011 712 6600.
Picture: Billiongraves