Presidency publishes funeral policy manual

Tuesday, August 16, 2016

Pretoria - The Presidency has made public the State, Official and Provincial Funeral Policy Manual, which determines and defines the categories as well as the management of State-funded funerals in South Africa. 

“The State, Official and Provincial Official Funeral Policy Manual describes different categories of funerals commensurate with the status of the deceased figures and also identifies key role players, structures and processes, with the emphasis on freedom and democracy as well as high levels of community participation,” the Presidency said on Tuesday.

Categories of funerals that are designated in the manual include State funeral, official funeral, special official funeral, provincial official funeral and special provincial official funeral.

“It also incorporates the amendments as informed by the Cabinet decision of Cabinet Memo Number 21 of 2015 presented by the Chairperson of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on State Funerals on 9 September 2015,” the Presidency said.

In summary, there are three main types of funerals in the Funeral Policy, namely, the State Funeral, Official Funeral and Provincial Official Funeral.

The State Funeral is divided into two categories:

State Funeral Category 1 is reserved for the President of the Republic of South Africa, the President-elect of the Republic of South Africa and Former Presidents of the Republic of South Africa.

State Funeral Category 2 is for the Deputy President of the Republic of South Africa; Acting President of the Republic of South Africa and Former/Deputy Presidents of the Republic of South Africa.

The Official Funeral is also divided into two categories:

Official Funeral Category 1 is for Serving Ministers, Speaker of the National Assembly, Chief Justice of the Republic of South Africa, Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces (NCOP), Premiers of Provinces, distinguished persons specifically designated by the President of the Republic of South Africa.

Official Funeral Category 2 is for the Spouse of a serving President, the Spouse of a serving Deputy President, Deputy Ministers, Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, Permanent Deputy Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces, Deputy Chief Justice of the Republic of South Africa and The President of the Supreme Court of Appeal.

The Provincial Official Funeral is divided into a Provincial Official Funeral Category 1 which is for the Speaker of the Legislature and Members of the Executive Committee.

The Provincial Funeral Category 2 is accorded to the Deputy Speaker of the Legislature.

Distinguished persons can be granted a special Provincial Official Funeral Category.

The Premier of a province sends a request to the President for consideration if they feel a resident of the province deserves such recognition.

The State, Official and Provincial Official Funeral Policy Manual is available on The Presidency website: http://www.thepresidency.gov.za/pebble.asp?relid=22481. - SAnews.gov.za