Harare City Council has hiked burial and cremation fees, the Daily News reports. According to the publication, these are the new charges for burial plots and cremation:
Reservation of area A+ at Warren Hills, Greendale and Pioneer Cemetery sites has risen to $1 788 for residents up from $293, for non-residents it is now $2 386 from $391, $3 582 for non-Zimbabweans up from $587 and for the Jewish section it is now $2 983 up from $489.
Reservation of a grave ranged between $150 and $391 in 2019 but has now risen to between $916 and $2 386.
Cremation of a Hindu adult was $196 but is now $1 196, while a Hindu child’s body now costs $597 up from $98 to cremate and non-Hindu’s have to fork out $1 788 from $293.
Burial charges of ashes ranged between $98 and $391 but are now priced between $597 and $2 386.
Council also noted that cremation of non-Zimbabwean non-Hindu adults will now cost $4 211 up from $690 while a non-resident non-Hindu child will be cremated for $2 105 up from $345.
When contacted for comment, Harare’s spokesperson Michael Chideme dismissed reports claiming the hike was in anticipation of COVID-19 deaths and said the hike was due to inflation which according to Zimstats soared to 756% in April 2020