The MK Party’s entrance into the funeral cover sector has raised the ire of the Unification Task Team of the Funeral Industry of South Africa (UTT), which is demanding that the Jacob Zuma-led party withdraw from the R20-billion-a-year industry and stick to politics.
UTT, a federation representing funeral practitioners in South Africa, stated that it was deeply concerned and appalled by the MK Party’s launch of the MK Funeral Scheme.
UTT spokesperson Muzi Hlengwa warned that political parties should stay away from the funeral business as it is not their terrain.
“It is our firm belief that political parties exist to represent the best interests of the people, not to encroach upon industries that are already serving the community. Funeral practitioners, many of whom are hard-working individuals with long-standing roots in the industry, are now being directly undermined by this political party’s attempt to enter the funeral business.
“We as funeral practitioners firmly reject MKP’s interference in our industry. The introduction of the MK Funeral Scheme represents nothing more than a move driven by greed and opportunism.
“This action threatens the livelihoods of the people who are genuinely invested in the funeral industry and only serves to create division among South Africans.”
Hlengwa said members of UTT were drawn from various political parties, including those affiliated with the MK Party.
“We are alarmed by the potential for division that MKP’s actions will create within the funeral industry. We are also concerned that MKP’s members who work within the funeral business will face pressure and discrimination if they choose to bury their loved ones with companies that are not owned by individuals belonging to MKP.
“UTT will not stand idly by as our industry is threatened by those seeking to exploit it for political gain.
“We are calling on MKP to immediately withdraw from the funeral industry, and we give them a 7-day ultimatum to do so.
“If MKP does not comply with this demand, UTT will have no choice but to organise a march to MKP’s offices in protest against their continued involvement in this sector.”
Hlengwa also pointed out that the political party formed by former president Zuma should write a formal statement confirming its withdrawal from the funeral industry.
“We call on MKP to respect the wishes of the people and leave the funeral business to those who have built it from the ground up. Should the MKP persist in their interference, they will face the full wrath of the Unification Task Team, and we will take further action. Hands off our industry,” he said.
The MKP is not the first political party to venture into the funeral scheme space. In 2019 the ANC announced plans to launch its funeral policy scheme, which it said was designed to benefit its millions of supporters and the party’s members in good standing.
The ANC said then the initiative was motivated by the desire to ensure that its members and supporters were, “after a lifetime of sacrifice and under conditions of ever-escalating costs attached to the funeral industry, able to provide for a dignified burial of their loved ones”.
The funeral cover scheme has extended beyond the traditional insurance and undertaker players and has also seen top sporting clubs, corporates and retailers establish their own schemes.
In November last year, the Financial Sector Conduct Authority and the Prudential Authority invited stakeholders to participate in a project to review the regulations governing the distribution of funeral insurance.
The authorities said they initiated the collaborative project to address concerns relating to the distribution of funeral insurance.
The authorities are focusing on conducting a regulatory framework review to identify improvements that can help increase formalisation, accelerate market growth, and enhance enforcement within the funeral parlour sector.
They are also focusing on compliance awareness and capability support focusing on training and awareness initiatives that will include guiding unlicensed funeral parlours seeking authorisation under the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act.
The initiative is also aimed at strengthening supervision and enforcement strategies to ensure high compliance levels while keeping costs manageable and developing strategies aimed at improving consumer financial literacy and awareness regarding funeral insurance.
Hlengwa said that UTT blocked the ANC when it wanted to create a funeral cover.
“When the ANC wanted to do it, we blocked them, that is why they are no longer doing it. When Sanlam came into the industry and wanted to become funeral undertakers, we fought, and it moved out. Even when Old Mutual did the same, we fought.
“The idea of a political party entering such a saturated funeral industry, is not a good one at all as it’s something we do not want to see.
“We can’t allow a situation where political parties that have ambitions of becoming government to compete in a funeral space. We cannot allow that at all, as they will crowd an already crowded industry.”
