Ngoni Dapira

IN African culture the departed become ancestors who are revered and considered as mediums that conduit messages to God (Musikavanhu) directly. Their resting places are sacred and respected. In the rural areas, family shrines often within family homesteads, are sacred and well taken off as a way of remembering the departed.

However, in the urban settings, because of neglect, public cemeteries have become more or less like forests, if not dump sites, a situation which Mutare Mayor Simon Chabuka and his council have condemned and confronted the council executive over.

The matter arose last month after public outcry over a US$7 fee that was allegedly being charged to enter graveyards in the city. The matter was brought up during a Full Council meeting last month and reported in The Manica Post newspaper which drew the attention of the Mayor and his councilors to seriously investigate the matter.

Mutare Mayor Simon Chabuka (blue suit) with fellow councilors and council administrators at St Joseph’s Cemetery in Sakubva.

During a tour on Tuesday by Mutare councilors at St Joseph’s Cemetery in Sakubva, before convening the 1336th Full Council meeting, Mayor Chabuka complained about the neglect at the cemetery.

Upon arrival, though there was evidence of clearing works being done on the day, the Mayor said he was not impressed by the absence of the administrator at work with no valid reason and the lack of an office and ablution facilities at the cemetery. He said the lack of proper systems at the cemetery proved that the public complaints were most likely correct, as chances were likely that workers there do whatever they want in the absence of an administrator to supervise daily activities.

The Mayor candidly asked why there are no toilets or an office to receipt or serve people from when they come to see their departed at a cemetery like St Joseph’s that is now over 50 decades old. He further asked why there was no administrator at the cemetery to professionally receive and attend to the request of visitors.

City of Mutare assistant director of Housing and Community Services Noel Mushangwe who was present during the tour could not respond but just pleaded guilty as charged on maladministration at the graveyard. He was asked if he was aware of the US$7 fee being charged to enter the cemetery and said he was not aware. The Mayor however set aside the issue at the grave site as he wanted to hear the full report at the Full Council meeting.

Later on during the Full Council meeting Mushangwe in his report cleared the air on the alleged entrance fee of US$7 and said it is actually a grave maintenance fee, and explained how their levies are defined. He said the grave maintenance fee used to be US$5 but due to inflation in the 2025 budget it went up to US$7 including value added tax (VAT), but is actually US$6.30 excluding VAT.

City of Mutare assistant director of Housing and Community Services Noel Mushangwe presenting his report.

“This is not a new fee. It is rooted in Council’s policy and commitment of ensuring that our final resting places are maintained with dignity and order. The US$7 fee focuses on grave maintenance which refers to maintaining the graves in cases where they crack and people want to fix the graves or when people want to do some improvements or landscaping at the grave. That is what we refer to as grave maintenance,” said Mushangwe.

He said the fee is not charged to people when they come to bury their loved ones or when they come to pay their respect at the grave or when they visit to place flowers at the graves of their departed. Adding that people must only pay the fee when they want to do structural renovations at a grave.

“This is a service based tariff intended for those undertaking specific maintenance to support the general upkeep provided by the City Council. In terms of our Cemetery Management Policy of 2023 in section 18, 19 and 21, generally we say cemeteries are protected areas and one must have permission from the director (Housing director) which is granted through the officers manning the graveyards. So when you want to visit the grave of your loved ones you have to ask for permission from the officers, but there is no fee that is supposed to be paid to just access the cemetery. You only make a payment when you want to engage in acts of grave maintenance,” he said.

He added that they also have other fees like the tombstone erection fee and tombstone maintenance fee.

After the report presentation, in response, councilors said the issue was not about the maintenance fee, but its abuse by some of administrators and ground keepers who are charging people that fee as an entrance or access fee. They said it shows lack of proper systems and follow up on the part of senior management.

Mayor Chabuka reprimanded the Housing Department and instructed the town clerk to submit a report of progress on renovations or construction, if no structures are there, of administration offices, at cemeteries by 5 June, next month. He said such projects can be done by council builders and not tendered.

The Mayor added that there is also need to re-look budgets set towards maintenance of cemeteries in the city to respect the departed.