Gweru City Council has proposed steep increases in burial fees starting in January next year, with families expected to fork out more than double to bury their loved ones.
Residents would be expected to fork out US$100 up from the current US$52 or the equivalent in Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG) currency (Zig) for burials during the week at council cemeteries situated in town.
During weekends, burial charges have been set at US$200 for resident adults.
According to the proposed tariffs which are yet to be adopted, resident children and stillborns will be buried at a cost of US$100 respectively during the week.
The charges remain the same during the weekends.
Non-resident adults are expected to fork out US$200 during the week, while burial of ashes has been raised to US$250, more than double the current charges.
Maintenance of graves for senior citizens has been raised to US$100 from US$20 while the cost of reserving a memorial plot increased to US$400 from US$104.
Deputy finance director Michael Verenga said the proposed tariff hikes were in line with the prevailing economic situation and would cater with the "high cost of maintaining cemeteries."
But Gweru Residents and Ratepayers Association director Cornilia Selipiwe described the burial fees as "too exorbitant and inhumane."
Selipiwe said there was a need for the council to look for alternative sources of income "instead of capitalising on the dead."
"Why not increase penalty fees on unapproved construction for instance to cover some of council's financial needs," he quizzed.
Council will starting this weekend conduct ward based 2025 budget consultations and the issue of burial fees is expected to dominate the discussions.
Gweru has three cemeteries in the city - Senga, Central (Mtasa) and Mkoba.
The other council cemetery, Mtapa, closed a few years ago as there was no more space for burials.
The 12-hectare graveyard was declared full, with the only space left being that of people that paid for it in advance.