Beyond the grave
Funeral home operator proposes licensing, mausoleum solutions for cemetery crisis
Published:Sunday | February 18, 2024 | 12:14 AMAdrian Frater - Sunday Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
With many of the island’s public cemeteries in a deplorable state and some running out of space, at least one funeral director believes a rethink in how burials are done in Jamaica will resolve the issues.
It is being suggested that the Government move away from traditional in-ground burials to building public mausoleums. A licensing regime for funeral operators would then see them paying an annual fee to finance the maintenance of public burial sites and morgues.
“This is how the municipalities will be able to once and for all solve the challenges plaguing the public cemeteries,” said Paul Patmore, who operates the Trelawny-based Patmore’s Funeral Home.
The funeral home director currently operates a mausoleum, which he said has revolutionised the business.
Style of burial
“The mausoleum style of burial easily addresses the space issue at cemeteries. You could have as many as six burial sections in one structure,” Patmore explained to The Sunday Gleaner.
“This will also allow the scope for these burial sites to be developed into lovely parks, which would be more pleasing to the eyes than the regular cemeteries. In addition, the parks could be creatively used to generate an income,” he further suggested.
Patmore also noted that mausoleums, which are being used in several countries, are more environmentally friendly than in-ground burials as they eliminate the possibility of contamination of underground water sources from the chemicals used to prepare bodies.
To maintain these mausoleums and the existing cemeteries across the island, Patmore suggested that the Government annual fees from a well-regulated funeral industry would give municipalities a steady income stream for this purpose.
“At present, we have about 250 funeral businesses operating in Jamaica, and outside of the regular GCT (general consumption tax), they are not paying anything. If the Government could get each of them to pay an annual fee of about $40,000, they would have the funding that is needed for the maintenance of the public cemeteries and morgues,” said Patmore, who was elected as an independent councillor in 2012 in the Lorrimers division in Trelawny and served a single term in the then parish council.