TOURISM players and residents in the Vumba area in the Eastern Highlands have joined forces to resist a proposed cemetery project by a private developer claiming it will scare away tourists.
NewsDay established that a Harare private developer has proposed to provide space for 50 000 graves at the intersection of Vumba Highway and Lorraine’s View Road.
The site will have a chapel, crematorium, mausoleum, ablution facilities and car park, according to documents in possession of NewsDay.
However, residents and tourism players are up in arms against the initiative.
Mutare Rural District Council engineer Drought Musungo said they were holding consultative meetings with various stakeholders after receiving a petition from tourism players.
“We had a meeting recently with various stakeholders including the residents and players in the tourism sector over the matter. Consultations are still ongoing,” he said.
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Tourism players said they were not happy with the new development as it would scare away tourists.
“Vumba is renowned as a tourist resort that contributes significantly to the growth of tourism in the country. Having a cemetery here will traumatise tourists and eventually result in the decline in tourist arrivals,” one operator who refused to be named said.
Retired Bishop Sebastian Bakare, who is the Mutare Residents and Ratepayers Trust director, said a social service should not be forced on residents.
“My thinking is that the cemetery falls under social services which are targeted at the residents in a particular area. If they don’t want it, they must not be forced to accept it,” Bakare said.