Let us build more funeral homes to save time spent on burials

Godfrey Bwebukya Kisekka

What you need to know:

  • In the public sector, the quality of services offered is tremendously affected by the endless absences of government workers.
  • As a result, lots of man hours are lost, a lot of fuel/transport cash, food costs are incurred as people bury every day of the week. Extended vigils and last funeral rites are responsible for perpetuating poverty due to high expenditure.
  • Sensitisation of the masses needs to be done to change from this practice, such that mourners only show up on the day and time of the burial and depart immediately after burial instead.
  • The above scenario comes on the back of on our culture, traditions, religion, weak labor laws and our general laissez faire attitude.

It is probably only in Uganda where it is normal for an employee to call/ Whatsapp/text/e-mail an employer to notify him/her about absence from work due with an excuse or reason of going for burial. This can be on any day of the week, but most annoying is when this happens at the start of the week, that is on Monday or Tuesday.
Whereas it is a big challenge to profit-oriented firms to survive in the competitive world, the non-profit entities (non-governmental organisations and government business) are also affected in project implementation and reporting deadlines to their donors/general public.

In the public sector, the quality of services offered is tremendously affected by the endless absences of government workers. As a result, lots of man hours are lost, a lot of fuel/transport cash, food costs are incurred as people bury every day of the week. Extended vigils and last funeral rites are responsible for perpetuating poverty due to high expenditure.
Sensitisation of the masses needs to be done to change from this practice, such that mourners only show up on the day and time of the burial and depart immediately after burial instead.

The above scenario comes on the back of on our culture, traditions, religion, weak labour laws and our general laissez faire attitude. Since death is one of the few sure realities, as people die every day; it is important that as a country, we change our attitude and culture to start burying our dear ones on weekends, except Muslims whose religion does not permit that.
In order to keep our deceased decently and affordably for many days, we shall need funeral homes, (not necessarily more mortuaries), where bodies can be kept and cared for many days to enable us bury on weekends.
A funeral home is a place where bodies are kept in refrigerators, treated/embalmed, cremated (where applicable) at a fee, with a compound/ sitting area for the vigil with areas for viewing of the body, complete with reception areas, ample parking and only removed when the family members are ready to proceed for the burial.

Some funeral homes also help one to process a standard death certificate, provide caskets, clothing and transportation hearses. Currently, we have very few funeral homes around Kampala, with no such services up country.
Many African countries are already moving in this direction like Kenya. The funeral homes around Kampala are few and very expensive. As such, the central government should, through its various districts/sub counties/towns council local governments construct funeral homes.
Like with other booming sectors of the economy (private schools and health units), private investors should be encouraged and supported to construct funeral homes. Government should help investors with suitable land, tax free transportation vehicles, education and training for this service to take off.

Many Ugandan Insurance companies and funeral Service Companies already have funeral insurance packages, which they need to popularise and also make them more affordable.
In order to provide this service at no or subsidized prices, government should construct its own funeral homes regional/district headquarters and also provide vehicles, which the residents can fuel to the various burial sites.
In Uganda, every clan/family has its own cemetery and we mainly bury our dead ones in concrete graves, which degrades the environment and depletes fertile land which would otherwise be used economically.
Central government, Kampala Capital City Authority, municipal councils, town councils and sub-county councils will need to procure land for public cemeteries where a small fee maintenance fee should be paid by the bereaved.

We need to change our cultural practices so that we start public cemeteries, mainly in marginal, infertile land where we should encourage multi-level lining of bodies to ensure optimal land utilisation.
Cremation of bodies, where bodies are burnt and only ashes are kept or buried should also be studied. Burial on private land in Kampala, all municipalities and Town Councils should be banned, so as to save that expensive land for buildings, roads, railways, among others. We should burry only in sub counties.
There is need also for a widespread cultural shift from having many days of last funeral rites months after burial.
We should be installing the heir immediately after burial, so as to save on expenses, fornication, drunkenness and promotion of all sorts of ungodly stuff which are normally practiced.

All in all, apart from the Muslim community, the rest of the country needs to appreciate and change their old practices so that we start keeping our deceased dear ones in funeral homes, bury only on weekends/ holidays not in private concrete grave yards but in plain earth public multilevel cemeteries.
For those who can adopt further modernity, cremation of bodies should be the most ultimate solution.
In order to regulate the above sector, government will need to come out with an enabling law and policies applicable across all cultures and religions. The very traditional people will also need to embrace modernity so as to fit in the current global village.

Mr Kisekka is the Town Clerk Makindye Division, KCCA