Bodies could start rotting in mortuaries due to load shedding, say undertakers

Bodies decaying at various funeral parlours across the country as a result of unreliable power supply is becoming an ever-closer possibility, unless government intervenes urgently.

This is according to the National Funeral Practitioners Association of South Africa (Nafupa), who have warned that the load shedding crisis holds much greater danger than simply leaving South Africans in the dark.

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Spokesperson for Nafupa, Dududu Maganu, told The Citizen unless there is an urgent intervention in the next six to eight months, several mortuaries are also likely to close their doors due to the unbearable pressure of the electricity crisis.

“Although our members have not confirmed any cases of decomposing bodies, we have heard rumours about bodies that were in the process of decaying, which should tell you that our industry is on the brink of a serious crisis.

“Another worrying situation we have been hearing about in the industry is that of the extra money that needs to be spent on embalming bodies and buying extra chemicals just to ensure that the deceased’s body is ready for a burial,” said Maganu.

Cost of load shedding on funeral parlours

Stage 4 and stage 6 load shedding means having no electricity for up to 12 hours a day.

“Load shedding is a serious disaster which makes it extremely difficult for small businesses to survive.

“Load shedding is a second pandemic after Covid-19, which we are still trying to recover from following the strict lockdown rules at the height of the pandemic,” Maganu said.

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He said funeral undertakers can spend up to R2 000 daily on operating generators every time stage 4 load shedding is implemented.

“This is just us trying to find alternative ways of powering ourselves, but we are barely coping as these added costs have also forced some of our members to reduce the number of their permanent staff members.

“The added extra costs due to load shedding is something that we never worked into our monthly premiums. It’s just something that no one budgeted for,” Maganu said.

Maganu called on government to assist the industry with solar energy systems so that they can keep mortuaries under the required 4 degrees celsius.

Additional costs

“The National Health Act states that adequate and effective facilities for back-up sources of electricity must be provided in case of a power failure, which means all funeral homes need to own a generator or an additional back-up source of electricity.

“With 10 hours of load shedding a day it may cost a small funeral home up to R2 500 and R5 000 per day on fuel or diesel for their generators. For bigger companies with bigger refrigeration facilities the cost is even higher,” said Elsabe Basilio from the National Funeral Directors’ Association of South Africa (NFDA).

She says when they calculate costs on stage 4 load shedding only, the funeral sector spends approximately R156 million or more per year, only on fuel or diesel for back-up sources of electricity, excluding maintenance. 

“With expenses escalating, the cost of funerals is escalating as well as premiums on funeral insurance products and this has a negative impact on the client’s pocket.”

Are earlier burials the way to go?

Maganu says asking families to bury their loved one within four days is unlikely to address the challenges brought on by load shedding.

“Firstly, it takes a while for bereaved families to get all documentation needed for a burial such as a death certificate.

“Having earlier burials will also result in unnecessary pressures on everyone involved, and we are also likely to sit with situations where bodies get mixed up,” said Maganu.

Basilio said electronic equipment also breaks due to load shedding, resulting in insurance claims and additional expenses.

“As in all other sectors, funeral homes are still liable for their monthly electricity bill as well and most funeral companies that provide insurance products have a live web-based system, and when the system is down, they must revert to handwritten receipts which is opening the door for fraudulent activities.

“It brings about duplication of work as all handwritten receipts must be captured online when power is restored, extra hours of work for staff and overtime increases,” added Basilio.

Grim outlook for the industry

“The future for the industry looks rather bleak if government does not intervene, and as funeral services are an essential service, government should consider discounted electricity to funeral homes or an additional rebate.

“In the event where there is no intervention, small funeral homes will close their businesses causing job losses, loss of revenue, an increase in funeral costs, including an increase in the premiums of funeral products,” Basilio warned.

Effects of crime during load shedding

“In certain areas our members are now forced by health inspectors to have additional back-up generators, and one of our members had to purchase nine additional generators, of which three have already been stolen during extended load shedding. 

“It (the generator) was basically cut out of the wall, or in one case so badly damaged it will never work again,” said Basilio.

She said in certain areas the risk of hijacking is also increasing by the day. 

“For instance, a funeral director will receive a call, during load shedding, to remove the deceased from the place of death and when the funeral director arrives at the address, he gets hijacked.”

According to Basilio, in smaller towns the funeral homes are being ransacked during load shedding. 

“With extended load shedding the perpetrators vandalise transformers, and that creates the back-up batteries on alarms to run empty. 

“Criminals are also targeting mortuary compressors, copper pipes, electrical cables, lowering devices and in these cases, the company must revert to additional security which is another expense as we cannot depend on the police,” Basilio added.

Meanwhile as the electricity crisis continues unabated, the new minister for electricity is yet to be announced and South Africans will only know who will head the ministry in question when the imminent cabinet reshuffle is announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa in the days to come.

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