Phomolong Memorial Park
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Would I be permitted to come visit a grave of a loved one at any time?
Phomolong is an access-controlled memorial park, not a public cemetery. The park is open to families during published visiting hours, which are displayed at the entrance and on our website and consistently observed. Within those hours, you are welcome at any time. Special visitation outside of published hours — for example, on anniversaries, religious observances, or moments of particular family significance — will be accommodated by prior arrangement with the Operations Office. The controlled access model is deliberate: it is how we protect graves, families, and the dignity of the environment from the neglect, theft, and vandalism that affect many public cemeteries.
2. Are there any monthly maintenance costs when you buy a grave?
No. There are no monthly maintenance fees, levies, or recurring charges to families. Long-term upkeep of the park is funded through a Perpetual Maintenance Fund, into which a defined portion of every burial right sold is permanently allocated. The cost of perpetual care is built into the original purchase, not billed back to families in years to come.
3. Can I sell the grave in future?
What you purchase is not the land itself but a Burial Right — the exclusive right to inter a person in a specified location and to memorialise them there. The land remains permanently owned by F Maloko Projects (Pty) Ltd, the custodial entity. Burial Rights are not designed to be traded as property.
The standard rule is that Burial Rights are non-transferable except by inheritance. They pass through your estate to your nominated heirs in the same way other family assets do. On a case-by-case basis, the Operator may approve one of two accommodations on written application: (i) transfer to an immediate family member during your lifetime; or (ii) an Operator- administered buy-back at a value determined by a defined formula, where the family no longer requires the plot. These are discretionary accommodations granted by the Operator, not entitlements.
This framework exists because a memorial park functions on the integrity of its register.
Unrestricted resale would, over time, undermine the order, traceability, and permanence that
families are paying for in the first place.
4. How do I know you will not repurpose the land at some future point in time?
This is the single most important question for any family considering Phomolong, and the answer sits at the foundation of how the institution is built.
The land is held by F Maloko Projects (Pty) Ltd, a custodial entity whose founding documents prohibit it from trading. Its sole purpose is to hold memorial land in perpetuity. The Shareholders Agreement expressly states that Activated Burial Land is not a speculative financial asset and may not be sold, mortgaged, rezoned, or redeveloped to generate shareholder returns. Any proposal to "unlock shareholder value" through the sale or redevelopment of burial land is, by binding agreement, to be rejected by the Board. Even in the event of insolvency, the agreements require that any restructuring preserves the burial land and transfers it to an entity
capable of upholding the same Permanence Principles. Day-to-day operations are run by a separate entity, Phomolong Memorial Parks (Pty) Ltd, which has no ownership of the land and cannot dispose of it. This dual-entity structure exists precisely so that no operator, future shareholder, or commercial pressure can repurpose ground in which families are interred.
5. What will happen once the cemetery is full?
The Phase 1 site has been planned for a long operational horizon — approximately 70 years under single-interment use, extending well beyond two centuries where families elect structured reopened interments within their allocated plots. Once the park reaches full capacity, it does not close in the sense of being abandoned. The site continues to be maintained in perpetuity by the custodial entity, funded by the Perpetual Maintenance Fund, and remains accessible to families during published visiting hours. New burials simply move to the next developed phase or to a subsequent Phomolong park.
6. Are there limitations to the tombstones?
Yes — and this is a deliberate design choice. Phomolong is laid out as a landscaped memorial garden with coherent visual order, not a patchwork of unrelated structures. Each burial tier carries its own memorial specification. The Headstone Memorial tier permits a flat stone or plaque lying level with the ground. The Upright Memorial tier permits an upright headstone within defined size limits. The Legacy and Family Estate tiers allow more substantial memorial elements appropriate to those sections. All memorial installations must comply with the approved specifications set by the Operator and must not create safety hazards. Families work with their preferred stone mason, and the design is submitted for approval before installation. The standards are published and applied consistently, so families know what to expect from neighbouring graves as well.
7. Do we allow more than one person per grave?
Yes, within the rules of each tier. A single Headstone or Upright Memorial plot may accommodate a structured reopened interment for a second family member within the same plot, subject to the time, depth, and procedural requirements set out in the Memorial Park rules. The Family Estate tier is explicitly designed for multiple interments, allowing up to twelve family members across four graves within a 25 m² reserved area.
8. If I pre-buy, what will happen if I die before my grave is paid in full?
Your Burial Right remains allocated to you, and the outstanding balance becomes payable by the family or estate prior to interment.
Where the family is able to settle the balance within the funeral preparation window, interment proceeds as planned. Where this is not immediately possible, the Operations Office will work with the family to put a short post-interment settlement arrangement in place against a signed family commitment, so that the funeral is not delayed. The intention is that no family in grief is forced to choose between meeting a payment deadline and laying a loved one to rest at Phomolong.
Only in the rare event that no settlement arrangement can be reached will Phomolong refund all amounts previously paid in six equal monthly instalments, and the Burial Right is returned to the Operator.
9. How do I know my grave will not be sold to anyone else?
Every Burial Right issued is recorded in a permanent grave register — maintained in both electronic and hard-copy form, with secure backups, and preserved permanently regardless of any change in operator. The register identifies the rightsholder by name and identity number, the exact location of the plot (section, row, number), the date of purchase, and the rights granted. An annual register of all Burial Rights issued is also provided to the Custodian. You receive a Burial Right Certificate as proof of your specific allocation (see Q11). Double allocation is structurally impossible within this record system.
10. What is the difference between a headstone and a full memorial section?
The Headstone Memorial is our entry tier: a single plot with a flat, ground-level stone or plaque. It is dignified, ordered, and uniform across its section — a memorial garden aesthetic rather than an upright monument.
A full memorial section refers to the upper tiers, which carry more substantial memorial elements and, in the case of the Family Estate, a dedicated 25 m² reserved area for a single family. The Upright Memorial tier permits a standing headstone. The Legacy (Hero's Acre) tier provides a prominent placement appropriate for individuals of public standing. The Family Estate is a private family ground capable of holding up to twelve family members. The choice is about the kind of memorial presence the family wants — flat and garden-integrated, upright and traditional, or a reserved family ground that consolidates generations in one place.
11. What proof do I have when I buy a grave?
You receive a Burial Right Certificate issued by the Operator. It specifies the rightsholder's name and identity number, the precise grave location (section, row, number), the dimensions of the plot, the rights granted, any special conditions, and the price paid. The same details are recorded in the permanent grave register. You retain the original certificate; we hold both electronic and hard-copy records. Should the certificate ever be lost, the register is the authoritative source and a duplicate can be reissued.
12. What is included in the price of a burial right?
The price of a Burial Right covers the allocated plot in perpetuity and the interment itself, performed within the agreed funeral timeslot in accordance with the Burial Protocol. This includes grave preparation, lowering, refilling, site restoration, and registration on the permanent grave register.
The Assembly Hall and kitchen facility are available for hire as a separate service and may be added to a burial booking where the family wishes to host the funeral service on site. Tombstone or memorial installation is arranged separately by the family with their preferred mason, subject to Phomolong's approved memorial specifications (see Q6).
13. What are the unique benefits of a Family Estate?
The Family Estate is the institution's flagship offering for families thinking generationally. It provides:
A dedicated 25 m² area reserved exclusively for a single family, accommodating up to twelve family members across four structured graves. A single, coherent memorial setting — so siblings, parents, grandparents, and children rest in one identifiable place rather than scattered across different sections or different cemeteries. Long-term certainty for the family decision-maker: future generations do not face the burden of finding burial space in an increasingly constrained market. Permanence guarantees backed by the same custodial structure that protects every other grave in the park, with no risk of the land being repurposed. A more substantial memorial specification that the family designs together as a multi-generational statement, rather than as an individual marker.
In short, a Family Estate converts what is usually a series of disconnected, reactive decisions made under grief into a single, considered act of family stewardship.
14. Does Phomolong accommodate different religious and cultural burial traditions?
Yes. Phomolong is a non-denominational memorial park and accommodates the burial traditions of the communities it serves, including Christian, Muslim, traditional African, and other faith practices, where these can be reasonably reconciled with the permanent character of the park and the rights of other families.
Burial orientations, ceremonial elements at the graveside, prayers, hymns, libations, and traditional rites are welcomed. Activities customarily performed at the family home — including ritual slaughter — remain the responsibility of the family and are not performed within the park.
Families with specific cultural or religious requirements are encouraged to discuss them with the Operations Office in advance so that the burial preparation can be arranged accordingly.
