Dear Honourable Members of Parliament,
As we are all aware, Covid-19 cases are on the rise and unfortunately this is our New Normal hidden under the veil of a « laisser-aller ». Let us face it and agree that bereaved families are facing a parcours du combattant regarding the administrative purposes of death declaration and funerals.
While the Parliamentary Questions of 09 November 2021 focused on the number of deaths recorded over the last few months, did any Honourable member deem it wise to question the administrative procedures for a death declaration before proceeding with a burial or cremation? We, the people, need to act now when we are faced with the dead body of our beloved. We, the people, need to know the step-by-step procedure in such a difficult moment and we, the people, need counselling and psychological support when it comes to the abrupt death of our close ones.
It is common knowledge that death declarations are registered during office hours, the traditional 9-to-4 office hours. However, the public has not yet been informed or made aware of death declaration, sanitary and cemetery measures after working hours. In such a delicate situation, it is of utmost importance to reduce administrative burden on deceased relatives by using clear directives and communication.
There is a total silence about procedures for Covid-19 death registration at late hours and the people do question themselves about how to proceed in such a situation and which door to knock. Definitely, the answer should not be the door of parliamentarians because such protocols should already be established and be of common knowledge. We should stop with the individualistic attitude of « mo konn dimounn » because not everyone « konn dimounn ».
Let us use our media to publish and broadcast important guidelines en boucle to ease the burden of families, for example :
1. Procedures to obtain a cause of death from a doctor;
2. Procedures for death declaration;
3. What is the time for burial or cremation at cemeteries?
4. How, where and at what time to get a sanitary clearance for cremation?
5. Is counselling or psychological support given to bereaved families?
Questions, questions, questions… that we expect Honourable Members of Parliament to ask with regard to a limited timeframe. In the meantime, we are still losing our loved ones and running à droite et à gauche with regard to administrative procedures.
P.I.R
