The old tradition of burying the deceased in the rural homes will soon return following revelations that the Harare City Council (HCC) only has four years left of burial space thereby presenting a real possibility of a crisis.

HCC uses an estimate three hectares of land for burial purposes per annum.

In her latest report on local authorities tabled in Parliament on Wednesday last week, Auditor-General Mildred Chiri said there was no evidence to suggest that a plan was in place to secure more burial space by the City Fathers. The audit was carried out for the year ended December 31.

“At the time of the audit, management represented that an estimate of 18 hectares (10 hectares at Granville cemetery and 8 hectares at Mabvuku cemetery) were remaining,” Chiri wrote.

“According to the above estimates, the remaining burial space will cover approximately six years,” she said.

“There was no evidence to suggest that a plan was in place to secure more burial space in the near future. Service delivery may be compromised as residents may fail to secure burial space in the near future.

“The council should consider acquiring more land for provision of burial space.”

In response, HCC said they had made provisions in the 2017 capital budget and are currently in the process of identifying land for future burial space.

Meanwhile, Chitungwiza Town Council (CTC) was quick to avert a similar crisis when they acquired more land and set up Zororo Cemetery located along Chitungwiza Road.