The Sunday News
TWO months after it was reported that Bulawayo is only left with three months burial space, Government is yet to gazette the new burial site, a delay which has seen the local authority failing to service the area.
This means the city of Bulawayo is left with less than a month’s burial space, with council considering sending an SOS to Government to hasten the gazetting process.
Bulawayo has seven cemetery sites, namely: Old Luveve, Luveve Extension, Luveve 3, Hyde Park, West Park, Lady Stanley and Athlone Avenue.
The council’s assistant director of health services (environmental health), Mr Masotsha Muchena, revealed this while addressing journalists during a media consultative meeting.
He said the city was handling about 400 burials a month and in the event that this figure increased, the city would run out of burial space sooner than predicted.
“The truth is we are fast running out of burial space. We can debate on how long it will take for the space to have run out but the bottom line is if there is an increase of the burial rate we surely won’t have any space left.
“Our only solution is the Pumula South site which is roughly 20 hectares. We have since written to the Government for the land to be gazetted so that we can start rehabilitating and servicing it so that it be suitable to become a burial site but up to today we have had no communication from them,” said Mr Muchena.
Commenting on the matter, Councillor Martin Moyo, the city’s mayor, called on residents not to panic, noting that efforts were being made in engaging Government to ensure that the gazetting process was completed.
“It is a matter that we are currently working on. We won’t allow a situation where we will be saying that we don’t have any burial space left. We are making frantic efforts to engage the relevant authorities to ensure that the land be gazetted as soon as possible. Our council officials are already on the ground preparing to start servicing the land,” said Clr Moyo.
A couple of months ago councillors expressed concern over the slow pace it was taking to service the land with ward four councillor Silas Chigora questioning the city’s readiness in catering for an increased death rate with only the three months burial space left.
“It is to my knowledge that the city is now left with just three months burial space, meaning in just three months’ time we might have nowhere to bury our loved ones. What I want to know from council is that have we identified another site before this turns into a crisis?” said Clr Chigora.
However, in response, ward 27 councillor Siboniso Khumalo, who is a member of the council’s health, housing and education committee, re-assured Clr Chigora and the people of Bulawayo that they “could feel free and die” as council had already identified alternative burial space in Pumula South.
The proposed new burial site has an estimated capacity to accommodate between 107 350 and 114 270 graves after allowing for footpaths and driveways.
