adminAuxilia Katongomara Chronicle Reporter
THE Zimbabwe National Army has made an arrangement with the Bulawayo City Council to buy graves at West Park Cemetery for its senior ranking officers, a senior official said. Speaking during the burial of Zimbabwe’s first female defence attaché Colonel Kuthandakwenkosi Donga at West Park Cemetery on Sunday, Chaplain-General Joseph Nyakudya said they had taken heed of commander Lieutenant General Philip Valerio Sibanda’s advice to get burial space for their senior officers.
“As we lay to rest Col Donga I’m pleased to announce to the Commander that we took heed of your advice to buy graves for our officers in advance. We’ve since engaged the city council in that regard and this is one of the graves we bought in advance,” said Chaplin-Gen Nyakudya.
He said Col Donga was the second officer to be buried under the arrangement.
He said the army would also provide a tombstone for Col Donga’s grave.
The ZNA-BCC cemetery scheme comes amid revelations that the city is left with burial space likely to last three months only.
The city council has taken up space between the cemetery offices and Crematorium Park at West Park Cemetery as an immediate short-term solution to the burial space challenge.
However, the new area would only provide 4,073 graves.
About 400 people are buried at the city’s cemeteries each month.
The city council has since identified two areas which it proposes to turn into cemeteries.
One of the proposed cemeteries is an area situated in Pumula South measuring 52,7 hectares. The proposed cemetery has the capacity to accommodate between 107,350 and 114,270 graves after allowing for foot paths and driveways.
Another proposed cemetery is located at Marvel Township in an area lying between the Bulawayo-Harare Road and the Bulawayo-Harare Railway Line. The area measures about 25 hectares.
The Bulawayo City Council in May last year approved Elizabeth Magdalene Dubois’ application to establish a private cemetery in the area with a capacity of at least 100,000 graves.
However, residents of Harrisvale, Northlyn and Trenance challenged the private developer’s decision to establish a private cemetery in the area without their consent.
They later withdrew their application saying they are fighting a losing battle.
The Dubois cemetery is meant to be an up-market facility for the upper class with a single grave expected to cost $5,000.
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