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Municipal Reporter

Local authorities have been urged to consider switching to cremations to save land as burial space is competing with other developmental projects. Speaking at the just ended Highshot Provisions organised Africa Local Government Economic Forum, Mayor of Lusaka, Zambia, Wilson Kalumba said cremation was a more eco-friendly way to bury and honour the dead.“Speaking of graves. We do not have enough space as Lusaka. I know here in Zimbabwe you have enough land to bury your loved ones but I think it is time that we start thinking of a cultural shift. I mentioned this in Lusaka and I got a lot of opposition in newspapers.”

“The fact is land for development is scarce so we need to start thinking ahead, 100 years from now there would be no land so it is important that we see some of these things in the longer term. “These are some of the things you should look at as you develop your areas of jurisdiction,” he said.

He said he was alive to the fact that local authorities have so many challenges but they needed to find ways of continuing to deliver services as residents expected services regardless of the challenges. Mayor Kalumba said there was need to empower local authorities to make decisive decisions.

“Political interference will always continue so we need to find ways of delivering services to our people even in the existence of this interference.

“Local authorities also need to be involved in climate change initiatives because this is very important. As we look for investment in our industry we must be cognisant to the threat posed by climate change. Your municipalities need to commit to actions that combat climate change.”

“We need to be mindful that as we cry for industrialisation we also need to be alive to the danger it poses to climate change and try to misnimise them,” he said.

Harare City Council is now developing a new cemetery at Eyerstone Residential Estate measuring 150 hectares following the decommissioning of Warren Hills cemetery early this year. The cemetery would be commissioned for burials before the end of the year.