Access to family graves 'with a click of a button at home' — Morero proposes digitising cemeteries

Johannesburg mayor Dada Morero has called for the digitisation of cemeteries in the city, saying it is a critical step towards modernising burial practices and addressing space constraints.

“When I arrived as the MMC of finance the first issue I asked the MD to deal with was the issue of digitisation of cemeteries. I said to the MD, before our terms end, we should have completed that part.”

Digitisation would allow families to manage graves online.

“People, with a click of a button at home, not even at the graveside, they should locate their family grave, in that way you are a world-class African country and city.”

Morero was speaking at the South African Cemeteries Association national conference.

He said while on a trip to Botswana to repatriate South Africans who died in exile during the liberation struggle, his team faced challenges finding graves.

“When we went to Botswana to identify the graves we could not get records of where this one was buried except that they showed us those graves are the ones we suspect your people might have been buried in.”

The conference, hosted in partnership with Johannesburg City Parks and Zoo (JCPZ) and the South African Local Government Association, brings together municipal officials, cemetery and crematoria professionals, researchers, planners and traditional leaders to discuss burial practices in the context of urbanisation, climate change and cultural heritage.

Of the 42 cemeteries managed by JCPZ, 39 are full, with only three or four sites available for new burials.

“[Digitisation] is an important part that we must resolve and the argument cannot be budget constraints. We must allocate the money and resolve the issue. It is important. We can’t claim to be a world-class African city but we don’t have digitised graves. There’s a problem,” he said.

Morero also raised the possibility of repurposing some grave sites for urban development.

“It is land that should be used for development and we tend not to exploit the space for development.”

He proposed using cemetery land for solar farms to contribute to energy solutions, noting that the idea may face cultural resistance.

The conference, under the theme “Eternal Evolution — Transforming for Sustainability”, includes discussions on spatial constraints, environmental stewardship and the evolving needs of communities.

Morero highlighted the need to engage communities in difficult conversations about burial alternatives.

“Over the weekend we saw news headlines that Johannesburg, Tshwane and eThekwini are battling with burial space and I think it’s time we find answers and solutions.”

Morero said he had a difficult conversation with his family about the possibility of him being cremated.

“I had a conversation on Saturday night that I must be cremated when the day comes but my wife and my sister said you won’t be there, we will decide what we do with you. In essence you realise that in the black community we need to take the debate forward because we need a point where we acknowledge we are running out of space and we must find better alternatives.”

He stressed the importance of education about funeral costs in black communities.

“We tend to want the most expensive coffin, the most expensive vehicles and the most expensive tent to bury our loved ones. We can reduce the costs.

“Society is not [only] about how it treats its living but also how it lays its dead to rest. We need national legislation and municipal bylaws fit for purpose; frameworks that balance tradition and innovation and that enable municipalities to acquire and reserve land that incentivise sustainable practices,” he said.

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