BELGROVES Group of Companies CEO Keith Belgrove thanked Rural Development and Local Government Minister Faris Al-Rawi for advancing new legislation to improve the local funeral services industry.
He was speaking at the opening of Belgroves' new crematorium in Point Fortin on Thursday.
Belgrove said of Al-Rawi, a former attorney general, "It was under his watch that this started."
Belgrove hoped that the new law would ensure all funeral service practitioners "treat funeral service as an honourable calling."
He said the industry has faced many challenges over the years which have left it "in the mire of corbeaux activity."
He identified touting as one challenge which has hampered funeral services since 1968.
"Touting robs families of the sanctity of being able to make a selection of a funeral home that they feel comfortable with, that they trust."
Today, Belgrove continued, "touting is rampant."
He said this practice happens at hospital mortuaries and wards
"How can this continue?"
As well as at hospitals, Belgrove said touts practise outside the offices of registrars for births and deaths.
When the families of the deceased realise they are being duped by certain funeral service providers, those same people charge them exorbitant fees to return the bodies in their possession. Belgrove called this an unholy practice.
In addition, lack of access to foreign exchange, he said, has resulted in funeral homes being challenged to obtain certain critical resources. He said the hearses they buy are often used, not new.
He added there must be consultation between funeral homes and the authorities to ensure the cost of funeral services does not become a burden on the consumer.
The post Belgrove: New laws needed for funeral-services industry appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.
