Online Reporter
Nqobile Bhebhe, [email protected]
BULAWAYO City Council has identified 43 hectares of land at Goodhope Farm, with the capacity to accommodate 80 000 graves, as a potential new cemetery site.
The farm, located 17 kilometres from the city centre, is owned by the local authority.
According to the latest council minutes, Director of Town Planning Mr Wisdom Siziba told the Town Lands and Planning Committee in February that burial space at the existing Luveve and Umvutsha cemeteries was rapidly depleting, necessitating the establishment of new cemetery sites to meet the growing demand.
He noted that burial remained the preferred method of laying the dead to rest, as cremation was not widely accepted.
“The Town Planning Department provided for these sites in terms of the Masterplan. One of the sites in terms of the Masterplan, which had been earmarked for the establishment of a cemetery in the immediate future, was to the north of the city centre, within portions of the following properties: Goodhope Farm, Umvutsha B and Subdivision B of Mapani,” reads the minutes.
“A deeds search revealed that Subdivision B of Mapani was Government land, Umvutsha B was privately owned and Goodhope Farm was owned by the City of Bulawayo.”
The report recommends that a portion of Goodhope Farm, which is currently not being used for farming, be gazetted and designated as a cemetery site.
“This piece of land had the capacity to accommodate 80 000 graves. The site was 17 kilometres from the city centre.”
Access to the proposed cemetery site would be via Victoria Falls Road, turning onto Sterling, and then onto Bulawayo Drive.
However, these roads require rehabilitation and upgrading to accommodate increased traffic volumes, the council said.
In response, Assistant Director of Town Planning, Ms Sehlile Ndlovu, explained that the department’s role was to proactively plan for land use.
She added that efforts were ongoing to secure more land for commercial and residential purposes.
“Marvel and Pumula South cemeteries had been gazetted for a long time. Pumula South Cemetery was located in a rocky area, making grave production difficult. Specialised tools were needed. Marvel Cemetery’s access was difficult, especially from Harare Road,” she said.
Following deliberations, the committee resolved that the site, which lies on a portion of RE of Goodhope and measures 43 hectares, as depicted on diagram TPA 9966, be handed over to the Health Services Department for gazetting and that the required infrastructure be put in place.
As burial space continues to dwindle, the local authority has been encouraging residents to consider cremation as an alternative.
In November 2019, the council proposed mandatory cremation for individuals aged 25 and below to address the shortage of burial space.
However, the proposal was met with resistance from residents, many of whom view cremation as a foreign practice that contradicts cultural traditions.
Religious objections have also been raised, with some Christians citing the lack of biblical references to cremation as a reason for their opposition.
