adminFreedom Mupanedemo Midlands Bureau
AFTER working for nearly a decade as a grave digger for a local authority, one would expect a free grave and funeral services from the employer upon their demise.
This, however, has not been the case for former Gweru City Council employee, Lameck Banda, who was ironically denied a decent send-off after his death last week despite having toiled for many years preparing resting places for others.
His relatives feel hard done and argue that Banda should have had the outright benefit of a free grave.
They are extremely bitter at council for making them pay for Banda’s grave, a move they described as “inhumane”.
Banda was buried at Mutasa Cemetery in the city after he was fatally knocked down by a car on his way from work.
“We are very bitter. This man worked diligently for the local authority and this was his 9th year working for Gweru City Council as a grave digger. It was only fair for the local authority to allocate him a free grave as part of his benefits,” said Mr Reason Sibanda, a relative to the late Mr Banda.
Mr Sibanda said the whole family was devastated that the local authority refused to entertain the family’s request and adamantly demanded $1 500 for the grave.
“It is unfair and inhumane. To make matters worse, the local authority was deducting funeral contributions for the late Mr Banda but when we went to a funeral parlour, we were told they were not remitting the deductions and there was a huge shortfall. We feel hard done by the local authority,” he said.
Gweru City Council spokesperson, Ms Vimbai Chingwaramuse, acknowledged the late Banda was indeed employed at the city council’s housing department saying when he died, he was working at the council’s recreational facilities.
“We mourn with the bereaved family but what we want to clarify is that Mr Banda was now working at our recreational facilities in Mkoba.
“It is not in the council employees’ contracts that if one passes on, they should get a free grave. Graves are sold even to our employees so it’s not correct that he should have been allocated a grave for free even if he was still working in that department,” she said.
Online Reporter