JOHANNESBURG — Of the city’s 42 cemeteries, 37 are now full, leaving only five active burial grounds with limited remaining space, according to Johannesburg City Parks and Zoo. Officials are urging residents to consider alternative burial options—including mausoleum interments, cremation, and reopening family graves—to ease future pressures on land and costs.
Azola Manjati, Head of Cemeteries at Johannesburg City Parks and Zoo, confirmed that the five remaining active cemeteries are West Park, Olifantsvlei, Diepsloot, Waterfall, and Avonpark. While current capacity could theoretically support burials for another 30 to 40 years, Manjati warned that significant strain emerges when only about 15 years of space remain.
“At Olifantsvlei, it’s not unusual to have 110 funerals on a single Saturday during winter,” Manjati said. “West Park is now operating at limited capacity. Diepsloot and Waterfall remain underutilized primarily due to their distance from concentrated residential areas.”
To extend the lifespan of available burial land, the city is promoting sustainable practices. Reopening existing family graves—where culturally appropriate—now accounts for approximately 30% of total burials, particularly in southern communities such as Avalon, Lenasia, and increasingly West Park. Cremation is also gaining acceptance across diverse cultural groups, with the city ensuring adequate capacity and dignified services at its crematoria facilities.
Manjati noted that while a major metropolitan area like Johannesburg ideally requires 70 years of reserved burial land, competing demands for urban development complicate long-term planning. “Housing, commercial properties, and business development all compete for the same land,” Manjati explained. “Zoning land exclusively for cemeteries decades in advance, without immediate use, presents significant challenges.”
When asked why unused land cannot simply be converted into new cemeteries, Manjati highlighted strict environmental and geological criteria. Suitable cemetery land must undergo rigorous assessment: it cannot be wetland, dolomitic, excessively sandy, or have a high water table. “Developing a cemetery requires land with similar suitability to that needed for housing or agriculture,” Manjati said, underscoring the complexity of expanding burial space.
The city continues to engage communities on sustainable burial practices, emphasizing that early adoption of alternatives can help preserve dignity, manage costs, and ensure responsible land use for generations to come.
