SELEBI-PHIKWE TOWN COUNCIL (CEMETERY) BYE-LAWS
(under regulations 34 and 35)
(11th January, 1974)
ARRANGEMENT OF BYE-LAWS
BYE-LAWS
1. Citation
2. Interpretation
3. Establishment of cemeteries
4. Burial in cemetery
5. Burial permit
6. Burial fees
7. Dimensions of graves
8. Body to be buried in coffin
9. Covering of coffin or body
10. Graves to be numbered and burials registered
11. Memorial work
12. Exhumations and reopenings
13. Restricted number of burials in one grave
14. Hours of opening of cemetery
15. Closing of cemetery
16. Exercise of control by caretaker
17. Offences within a cemetery
18. Penalty
First Schedule
Second Schedule
S.I. 1, 1974,
S.I. 27, 2004.
These Bye-laws may be cited as the Selebi-Phikwe Town Council (Cemetery) Bye-laws*.
*Originally made under the Township Act now repealed, these regulations have been continued under s 94(2) of the Local Government Act, 2013.
In these Bye-laws, unless the context otherwise requires
“adult” means a person other than a child;
“caretaker” means any person so designated by the council;
“cemetery” means a cemetery established under the provision of bye-law 3;
“child” means a person under the age of 10 years;
“memorial work” means any gravestone, monument, cenotaph, tablet or monumental inscription and any work ancillary thereto.
3. Establishment of cemeteries
The areas of land defined in the First Schedule are established as cemeteries for the purposes of these Bye-laws.
No person shall bury or cause to be buried any body elsewhere within the council area than in a cemetery.
(1) No burial shall take place in a cemetery except under and in accordance with a permit issued by the Town Clerk and on payment of the fees prescribed in bye-law 6.
(2) The permit shall be in the form set out in the Second Schedule.
(3) A person making application for a permit shall state
(a) the name, age and sex of the deceased;
(b) the religious denomination, if any, of the deceased; and
(c) the place of death,
and his application shall be accompanied by a certificate of death signed by a medical practitioner or a duly certified copy thereof or, in the absence of such certificate, by the written permission of a magistrate or District Officer authorising the burial.
(4) The Town Clerk may refuse the issue of a permit where the deceased died outside the council area and was not prior to his death a resident of the area.
There shall be charged for the issue of a permit in accordance with the provision of bye-law 5 a burial fee of P5:
Provided that
(i) the Town Clerk may waive the payment of such fees in whole or in part where he is satisfied that the person responsible for the burial is unable to pay the full amount and may, additionally or alternatively, make arrangements for the payment of the fee in instalments, and in event of failure to comply with the terms and conditions of payment imposed by the Town Clerk, the outstanding balance owing shall forthwith be a debt due to the council and shall be recoverable in a court of competent jurisdiction; and
(ii) the Town Clerk may waive the payment of such fees in whole or in part when the person responsible for the burial wishes to dig the grave himself and agrees to do so only after receiving authorisation from the Town Clerk and undertakes to abide by the specified conditions of siting and digging the grave as appear in bye-law 7 and as may be fixed from time to time by the council.
Unless the Town Clerk otherwise directs, graves shall be of the following dimensions
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Length |
2,128 metres
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Width |
0,912 metres
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Depth |
1,824 metres.
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8. Body to be buried in coffin
Unless the Town Clerk otherwise directs, no burial shall take place unless the body of the deceased is enclosed in a coffin of solid and sound construction.
(1) The family of the deceased shall
(a) immediately upon the placing of the coffin or body in a grave, cover it with earth until the grave is filled; and
(b) be responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of the grave from the date of the burial.
(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (1)(b), the Council shall, after satisfying itself that there is no family available to maintain and upkeep a particular grave, be responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of such grave.
10. Graves to be numbered and burials registered
(1) All graves in a cemetery shall be allocated a number and all burials shall be registered in a register which shall be kept by the Town Clerk.
(2) The register may be inspected by members of the public during office hours.
(1) No person shall erect on any grave any memorial work without permission in writing from the Town Clerk and in accordance with such permission.
(2) Any person making application to the Town Clerk for permission to erect any memorial work shall, if required to do so, furnish the Town Clerk with plans or diagrams thereof in such degree of detail as he may specify and shall supply such details as the Town Clerk may require as to the manner in which the work is to be executed.
(3) The Town Clerk may refuse to grant permission for the erection of any memorial work if he is of the opinion that the memorial work would be unsightly or offensive or if it is not of permanent and durable nature:
Provided that any person aggrieved by any decision of the Town Clerk may appeal to the council.
(4) The council may take down and remove any memorial work which has been placed or erected within a cemetery without their authority or which is not maintained in an adequate state of repair and any cost incurred by the council in so doing may be recovered from the person who erected the work.
12. Exhumations and re-openings
Subject to the provisions of the Inquests Act, no person shall exhume or cause any body to be exhumed within a cemetery or re-open any grave except with the consent of the council.
13. Restricted number of burials in one grave
Unless the Town Clerk otherwise directs, not more than one body of an adult or two bodies of children may be buried in one grave:
Provided that the body of a still-born baby may be buried with the body of its mother.
14. Hours of opening of cemetery
A cemetery shall be open to the public between sunrise and sunset provided that
(a) the Town Clerk or caretaker may from time to time authorise an earlier opening or a later closing;
(b) nothing in this bye-law shall authorise members of the public to enter any building or enclosed space within a cemetery; and
(c) children, unless accompanied by a responsible adult, may be excluded from a cemetery.
The council may close any cemetery, but any cemetery so closed shall continue to be a cemetery except that no burial may take place therein except on the authority of the Council.
16. Exercise of control by caretaker
(1) Every person within a cemetery shall be subject to the direction and control of the caretaker who may, in addition, give reasonable direction as he thinks fit for the arrangement of funerals.
(2) No person shall resist or obstruct the caretaker in the execution of his duties or disobey any directions given under the provisions of this bye-law.
17. Offences within a cemetery
No person shall
(a) without the consent of the Town Clerk or the caretaker, be in any cemetery other than during the hours when the cemetery is open under the provisions of bye-law 14;
(b) destroy or injure any building, wall or fence in the cemetery or destroy or injure any tree or plant thereof;
(e) put up any bill in any cemetery or any wall thereof;
(d) within a cemetery, destroy, injure or deface any memorial work;
(e) within a cemetery, play any game or sport;
(f) within a cemetery discharge any firearm except at a military funeral;
(g) disturb or annoy any person attending any funeral within a cemetery;
(h) within a cemetery, shout or scream or behave in an indecent or immodest manner;
(i) enter a cemetery which is enclosed by a fence or wall other than through a gate or door; or
(j) allow any dog or livestock within a cemetery.
Any person contravening the provisions of these Bye-laws shall be guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding P15 or, in default of payment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two months.
FIRST SCHEDULE
LIST OF CEMETERIES
(bye-law 3)
1. Fenced area north of the town centre used as a cemetery.
SECOND SCHEDULE
BURIAL PERMIT
SESUPO SA PHITLHO
(bye-law 5(2))
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Number |
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SELEBI-PHIKWE TOWN COUNCIL |
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Applicant’s Name …………………………………………………………………………… (Full name) (BLOCK LETTERS) |
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Applicant’s Address Name of Deceased Address of Deceased Date of Death. Place of Death Death Certificate (issued where and by whom and when) ……………………………………………………………………………………….. |
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…………………………. |
Sex ……………………………… |
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Age * Religious Denomination |
…………………………………………………… |
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I certify that the information given above is true in every respect. |
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……………………………………………. ……………………………………………. |
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FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY |
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Fee …………………………………………… |
Official Receipt No. |
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Grave Number |
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APPROVED |
………………………………………… |
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Date |
>*This question need not be answered.
**Potso e ga e patelesege go arabiwa.>