In separate interviews, registered players in the industry complained that unregistered operators have resorted to collecting premiums from people, despite not having been registered with the commissioner of insurance in the Ministry of Finance. They said while there was legislation protecting the sacredness of cemeteries and the dead, there is a need to improve on the laws protecting the dead. They cited the lack of a regulatory body governing the operations of the funeral service industry in the country as one of the reasons that has led to the sprouting of backyard funeral services.
Calisto Chiutsi, the Chairperson of the Zimbabwe Federation of Funeral Assurances (ZFFA) said operators who do not have parlours end up taking bodies to their homes in the event of failing to secure space at private or government-owned morgues. He said as a result of the economic difficulties facing the country, people without funeral policies tended to be attracted by the backyard operators as they charge less than those who are registered.
There is a potential minefield because of lack of regulation. What is needed is minimum requirements on how we should go about business. There are standards which ought to be followed, said Chiutsi. Most of the unregistered funeral service providers in Bulawayo operate from Mpilo and United Bulawayo Hospitals (UBH) entrances where they tout for business from desperate bereaved families. Most of the unregistered funeral parlours are owned by former workers of big companies such Doves and Morgans, Mashfords and Moonlight.
Post published in: News