adminAuxilia Katongomara Chronicle Reporter
THE Bulawayo City Council has identified a new site for a cemetery as West Park is fast filling up.
The proposed site measures 25 hectares and is located at Marvel Township bound by Harare Road and the Railway Line.
During a debate in council chambers on Wednesday, councillor Siboniso Khumalo did not support the idea of establishing a cemetery, saying the piece of land could be used for residential stands.
“I’m concerned about the burial space as a number of cemeteries are being established in the city and this will affect available land. Some of the land could be used to provide housing stands and reduce the numbers on the waiting list,” said Khumalo.
There are more than 100,000 people on the list.
Pumula North councillor Ephraim Ncube observed that developed countries had no open spaces.
“Most of the land has been used and I wonder how they have dealt with the issue relating to cemeteries,” said Clr Ncube.
However Deputy Mayor, Gilbert Banda, supported the idea of constructing another cemetery in the city.
“This is a good long-term plan but council should also continue to find land for housing delivery purposes,” said Banda.
Acting Deputy Director of Engineering Services (Town Planning) Wisdom Siziba weighed in saying the city was responding to demand from the public and that in developed countries cremation was their culture.
“Having a few cemeteries creates a lot of congestion during burials. In most developed countries cremation is utilised, however, this is affected by cultural beliefs in this part of the world,” he said.
In the latest council minutes, the local authority revealed that West Park Cemetery was running out of burial space, forcing it to make contingency plans that would extend burials for only one year.
This has forced the city council take up space between the cemetery offices and Crematorium Park which would only provide 4,073 graves.
This would provide burial space for 13 months at the current rate of 300 burials every month.
Last year, the Bulawayo City Council indicated that it was mulling plans to offer cremation free of charge to make it more acceptable to residents as the city was fast running out of burial space.
However, the idea was met with stiff resistance from residents who maintain that burning the body of a loved one is against cultural beliefs.
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