New cemetery still in early stages
The development of a new cemetery in Rocky Crest is in the development stages according to the City of Windhoek. Currently only three of the nine cemeteries located in Windhoek are functional and space is fast running out.
The Economist followed up with the City on the the progress, and were told that the City is still in the earlier stages of the project, but had completed the Environment Impact Assessment in 2014 and received the certificate for that, while their landscaping plan was only done during the last quarter of 2015.
Since only three cemeteries are functional, the city is fast fast running out of capacity, with the Khomasdal cemetery already full and only accommodating those who have reserved or through the re-use of existing space.
“The new cemetery which is under development is approximately 21 hectares and will accommodate more or less close to 14,600 graves,” a CoW representative said.
Furthermore, the city explained that because of the new eight-foot burial system in place, which enables the cemetery to accommodate two graves on top of one another, the new graveyard could accommodate close to 30,000 burials.
CoW confirmed that their current open cemeteries, which are, Gammams Cemetery, the Khomasdal Cemetery and the Oponganda Cemetery, are fast reaching their capacity, and this has necessitated them to develop the Oponganda Cemetery extension.
“We developed the extension during the 2014/2015 financial year and it should be operational before the end of 2016, with an estimated of 15 000 graves at the site and it is estimated to last for the next five to eight years,” they added.
The City could not confirm how much it will cost them for the new cemetery or when it will be ready for use.
Meanwhile, the City of Windhoek is responsible for innovative urban management to create a quality living environment for all generations and to facilitate, communicate and implement an integrated sustainable urban management service through its employee and to ensure maintenance of land use and that these activities are carried out according to the law.
