21 Apr 2024

Minister for State President, Mr Kabo Morwaeng says government will spend over P3 million to repatriate the remains of the Limpopo bus crash victims. 

Briefing bereaved families on Saturday, Mr Morwaeng emphasised the importance of disclosing government’s financial commitment to the tragic incident. 

“While we understand that this is a sensitive and painful subject, it is crucial for government to be open and forthcoming about our efforts to assist in these tragic circumstances,” he said, adding that he hoped the information would provide comfort and assurance that they were doing everything possible to repatriate the bodies with the dignity they deserved. 

Minister Morwaeng detailed expenses incurred by government to repatriate the victims including procuring coffins at P25 000 per person, private mortuaries at P22 500 each, embalming each body at P1 500 and repatriation of the remains at P19 500 each. 

The minister also noted that government provided transport, accommodation and other logistics to bereaved family members who travelled to South Africa at a cost of P63 000 as well as the national memorial service at P930 000 bringing the total cost to over P3 million. Minister Morwaeng said burial arrangements might take place sooner than initially expected, as 42 of the 45 victims had been identified. Ends