Does the Local Economic Development (LED) agenda have a role in the management of Human remains in Gauteng and Mbombela?

The management of human remains is under scrutiny due to the proliferation of funeral homes in township communities and growing environmental concerns. Operationalising a funeral business requires a certificate of competency (CoC), and it falls under the ambit of the local government, via Municipal Health Services (MHS) (Balfour, 2021). This article infers that since MHS and LED offices are under the same local government (which seeks to drive development within communities), these departments may find a workable solution for this business. However, emerging funeral directors are not knowledgeable about LED's role in their space, while local economic developers do not know how to engage with this sector. This study aims to establish the reasons behind the challenges of compliance experienced by emerging funeral directors, and the role of MHS and LED offices, which hold the mandate to promote an enabling environment for emerging businesses.