Heritage Cases

Steve Tshwete Local Municipality is applying for an environmental authorisation for the proposed Cemetery. The application was submitted to the Department of Agriculture, Rural Development, Land and Environmental Affairs on the 15 of October 2019. The following services will be provided for the proposed cemetery i.e.: water supply, electrical supply (a connection from the Sikhululiwe Village) and sewage reticulation system. This will be in the form of a water supply tank (to be filled by the municipality), overhead power line, and septic/conservancy tank. Commencement of the proposed Cemetery will result in the following i.e. creation of jobs in the immediate area. The Sikhululiwe Village does not have a burial place situated around their village and the distance to the current burial site used is about 30km, which is expensive, hence the Cemetery is proposed to provide the Village with a place to bury their loved one. For the detailed motivation, a Basic Assessment Report and the Environmental Management Programme Report, 1 document was compiled to identify potential impacts that the proposed cemetery establishment may have on the environment of and Socio-economic environment on the community of Ward 7 and 9 in the Steve Tshwete Local Municipality. Further detailed investigations of potential impacts, the risk assessments, and mitigation measures were analyzed through additional scientific studies, namely, Heritage studies, Soil- Landform Study, Geo-Technical Assessment Study, Flora, Fauna & Wetland studies, and Basic Groundwater Assessment Studies. This Basic Assessment Report was compiled by a qualified Environmental Assessment Practitioner. This report encompasses all the above-mentioned specialist studies and compiled to meet the requirements of the competent authority. The said BAR is available to be submitted to SAHRA as motivation for the application, applied for in terms of the Section 38 (1) of the National Heritage Resources Act, 1999 (Act 25 of 1999).