MAYOR ENCOURAGES 2-IN-1 GRAVES AS MAHWALALA CEMETERY OPENS

MBABANE – Do not be surprised when you to learn that a single grave is now used for multiple burials in the capital city.

This unfamiliar burial practice is one of those Mbabane Mayor Zephaniah Nkambule encouraged Mbabane residents to consider, following that the city burial space was running out. Nkambule said this during the official completion of Mahwalala Cemetery yesterday.

The cemetery measures 81 hectares and will be the new burial area for the city, following that Mangwaneni and Sidwashini are now full.
Nkambule said running out of space presented a challenge for all communities to rethink age old burial practices and open their minds to new ones that could help them preserve space. He asked the residents to embrace new burial practices like cremation and having multiple burials in a single grave. He acknowledged that the suggested practices were foreign and hard to embrace at first.

Nkambule said repeatedly driving campaigns that sought to change people’s mindsets would ensure impressive results and subsequently change attitude towards the new practices. He asked burial homes and insurance companies to partner with the Municipal Council of Mbabane and be agents of change.
Acting Ludzidzini Governor Lusendvo Fakudze, said bakaNgwane had their own burial space where they removed remains to bury another person. He said this during an interview yesterday.

Fakudze said it was evident that burial space was running out everywhere and cremation could be one of the solutions. He said even in neighbouring countries people were concerned about burial land and had embraced the methods suggested by Nkambule. He said the country’s authorities had to be approached for guidance on the matter.

Meanwhile, Minister of Housing and Urban Development Phiwayinkhosi Mabuza said he had heard the call for a paradigm shift for communities to realise that local government authorities were faced with a serious challenge of burial space.
Mabuza, speaking at the event, attributed this to the rural – urban migration phenomenon.
“The challenge is great and is only going to intensify going forward,” Mabuza said.

The minister said almost all emaSwati originated from rural areas and relocated to urban areas for a better life and employment opportunities. He said some people had established homes in urban areas and would die and be buried there, adding that  this then puts extreme pressure on the cemeteries in urban areas.

He warned that it was up to municipal councils to make the public more receptive to new burial ways, while being mindful of people’s of beliefs and matters of human dignity.

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