Want to have a free funeral? Become a councillor. In less than six months, South African ratepayers have forked out R500000 to bury their beloved city councillors.The SA Local Government Association, which represents municipalities, has distanced itself from the practice.This month eThekwini municipality, KwaZulu-Natal, set aside R400000 for the burial of two councillors and the North West municipality of Moretele paid out R100000 of ratepayers' money between January and April to bury another two.Last year Tshwane spent about R100000 of residents' money to bury four councillors.Salga spokesman Karen Reyneke said: "There are no standard rules. Each municipality deals with this matter in terms of its own policy."Councillors earn between R400000 and R458000 a year, with those elected to a mayoral committee earning an annual R800000.Johannesburg, Ekurhuleni and Nelson Mandela Bay failed to respond to media inquiries.Dirk Smit, Speaker of the Cape Town city council, said it was a private issue and "each councillor pays for his or her own funeral"."We don't do burials."The mayor of eThekwini, James Nxumalo, promised to review the municipality's funeral policy amid concerns by opposition parties that the council was setting a "worrying precedent".This month eThekwini spent R200000 each on the funerals of councillors Judy Mulqueeny and Zizile Cotoza.DA caucus leader Zwakele Mncwango said there was no justification for spending R4 00000."The council will pay R20000 in the event that councillors pass on. If a councillor is a member of a pension fund, they get cover for a funeral. The R200000 is lavish."Moretele Municipality raised eyebrows when it passed a council resolution in August to shift R98-million set aside for infrastructure to the burial of councillors, ex-councillors and traditional leaders at R50000 a pop...