A MYTH stating that an individual who officially opens a graveyard will be the first to be buried in it has driven fear into the hearts of Mpika town council officials, especially after the current graveyard has been declared full. The town council officials are all refusing to declare the new space identified as an official graveyard, fearing that they will drop dead and be buried there. Mpika Central Member of Parliament Sylvia Chalikosa learnt this from District Commissioner Moses Katebe when she called on him at his office yesterday. Mr Katebe said the current burial site has been operational since 1980 and was declared full last year.

“Musakanya grave yard, which is in the town centre, is full. The council identified a new site but because of a myth that if you open a grave yard, you will be the first one to be buried there, officials are afraid,” Mr Katebe said. He said this has prompted families to cover long distances to bury their loved ones. “Procedure declares that for a burial site to become operational, it has to be declared that it is a grave yard before being opened to the public, but that as it is, people cannot use it to bury their loved ones,” he said. Mr Katebe said it is important that a new burial site is opened soon so that people can be buried in a decent place.

Ms Chalikosa, who is Minister of Works and Supply, encouraged the officials not to believe in such myths, stating that people die at God’s own appointed time. She said such fate would meet everyone at some point, including all the town officials. She volunteered to officially open the new grave yard and encouraged the district administration to engage her in all activities.

“No one can die after opening a burial site, that is just a myth. I volunteer to open the grave yard so that the departed souls can be buried in a decent manner,” she said. Ms Chalikosa said she has plans to spur development in the constituency and urged the local authority not to work in isolation. She is in the constituency to inspect infrastructure projects under construction which is being built using constituency development funds.