New mortuary for Plumtree villagers
Mthabisi Tshuma recently in Mambale
IN a milestone achievement, a new mortuary is set to open its doors in Mambale, Mangwe District, Matabeleland South Province, this December, easing the burial process for villagers in the area.
The Mambale Mangwe Mortuary and Funeral Services has been under construction for the past year and is owned by businessman Mr Ginger Dochman Moyo.
The development is a first of its kind in Mangwe District and is set to lighten the load for villagers as they depend on mortuaries at Brunapeg Mission and Plumtree District Hospital.
A Chronicle news crew recently visited the mortuary at Mambale Business Centre and found construction workers doing final touch-ups to the state-of-the-art facility.
The facility has a refrigerator that accommodates six bodies with plans underway to install another one with the same carrying capacity before operations start.
The Mambale Mangwe Mortuary and Funeral Services complex has a chapel, a corpse refrigerator room, a corpse bathing room and a reception.
Mr Moyo said the setting up of the mortuary is part of efforts to contribute to the Second Republic’s Vision 2030 of having an upper-middle-income economy.
“As a businessman, I felt obliged to play a part in uplifting our country’s economy and at this point in a village-based setup. Opening this mortuary will give revenue to the rural district council and other stakeholders in the funeral industry.
“The mortuary is set to create employment for the local populace and in return, they will have a consistent source of income thereby their livelihoods will change for the better as envisioned by President Mnangagwa that development should see that no one and no place is left behind,” said Mr Moyo.
He said he will be working with various partners in the funeral industry to ensure their clientelle receives the best services.
“As a business community in Mambale, we believe in working together in a way that will develop our area and that is why my company will be working with Mr Sonboy Sibanda who runs Out of Town Furniture Shop and they will be our official coffin supplier.
“We believe this will empower our local carpenters who work under the furniture shop,” said Mr Moyo.
Mr Sibanda hailed the construction of the mortuary saying it is a shot in the arm for villagers.
“As a supplier of coffins, it was an extra cost for families to first transport the coffins to a mortuary which is far away and this infrastructure and funeral services by Mambale Mangwe Mortuary and Funeral Services will help our community.
“Gone are the days when certain services would only be found in urban centres. It is high time that local communities appreciate and support such developments,” said Mr Sibanda.
Ms Nokulunga Ncube, a villager in the area, said the establishment of the facility was long overdue as funerals had become a burden for them.
“To lose a family member, friend or fellow villager who would have died at their homestead had led to fast-tracking burials and this had disadvantages as some who would want to pay their last respects could not attend the funerals on time.
“If there were no funds to transport the body to a nearby mortuary, one would be buried the same day or the following day after confirmation of their death,” said Ms Ncube. — @mthabisi_mthire
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