adminAuxilia Katongomara, Chronicle Reporter
BULAWAYO councillors have turned down a proposal to include the Mayor, Councillor Martin Moyo, in a committee that determines requests for burial of distinguished citizens at Lady Stanley Cemetery.
The councillors argued inclusion of the mayor would make it take longer to make decisions, thereby increasing expenses for bereaved families.
They said Clr Moyo was not always readily available for consultation.
A section of the councillors said drafting a politician into the committee would make it lose credibility.
Bulawayo’s Lady Stanley Cemetery is a burial ground for distinguished senior citizens who have served the city with distinction.
According to the latest council report, the councillors had earlier recommended that a committee made up of Clr Moyo, health committee chairperson Clr Monica Lubimbi, Housing and Education Committee and Director of Housing and Community Services Isaiah Magagula, be set up to assess and approve the requests based on council resolutions.
However, at a full council meeting held last week, the councillors denied making the recommendation saying that it was time consuming and could be expensive to mourners who would have to wait longer for approval by the committee.
Clr Silas Chigora said the idea of having a committee involving the Mayor would be an inconvenience.
“At the last meeting we didn’t agree on setting up a committee for recommendation, what will happen if the Mayor is not around? Let’s just go back to the old method used for assessing distinguished residents,” said Chigora.
Clrs Rodney Jele, James Sithole and Nephat Sibanda seconded Chigora.
Clr Sithole said the 20 years continued stay in Bulawayo condition was relevant and should be maintained.
“I want to know if the outstanding contribution in the community was related to national contributions. I don’t support the proposal to include the general purposes committee members in the assessment and approval committee because in most funerals many residents prefer to reduce the mourning days in order to avoid costs.
Most funeral gatherings take three days at most and calling a general purposes meeting at such times would extend the mourning period, resulting in inconvenience to the bereaved family,” said Sithole.
Clr Thobane Ngwenya inquired if the deceased individual had to meet all the stated conditions in order to be buried at the special places reserved for the prominent and distinguished pioneer residents.
Clr Concilia Mlalazi said ward councillors should make recommendations in liaison with the residents regarding the deceased individual’s contribution to the community.
Council’s legal officer Siphekiwe Guta said the recommendations were very clear.
“The deceased individual should have stayed in the city for 20 years and they should have made an outstanding contribution to the community during her or his life,” said Guta.
The acting town clerk Sikhangele Zhou there was standing council policy on the issue.
“In most cases the reports of outstanding deceased persons were dealt with by the director of housing and community services then consultations would then be made with the mayor and the chairperson of the health, housing and education committee,” said Zhou.
The councillors rejected the recommendation to co-opt the mayor into the committee.
Online Reporter