Government has announced that the ministry of Lands offices will be opened for business tomorrow March 6, 2007.
Government spokesperson, Vernon Mwaanga said in a statement to ZANIS that the offices which were closed to both workers and the general public last Thursday will be opened for business tomorrow.
Mr Mwaanga has called on all workers to report for work at 08:00 hours tomorrow. Mr Mwaanga explained that offices were closed to facilitate investigations into allegations of irregular allocation of land by some officers in the ministry.
Mr Mwaanga who is also Information and Broadcasting Services minister however, said government regrets the inconvience caused to the public but hoped that the people of Zambia appreciates the move as it was aimed at protecting public interest.
Mr Mwaanga said useful information and documents have been retrieved since investigations started adding that as a consequence, some officers will be needed to help with investigations.
He added that such officers may be asked to stay away pending investigations.
ZANIS
Now that we have been told that important documents have been collected from the Ministry of Lands, speedy prosecutions of the offenders is all we expect from the DPP’s office. It is of no good use to the people to trumpet about wrong doing when the wrongdoers walk away from their offices with everything they have plundered!
Where someone allocates land to their family, or awards huge chunks of land beyond their authority, evidence is pressumably enough for prosecution. We expect the government to naturally clean-out the dirt and bring back sanity into the ministry. The investiagations should cover all ministries so that we move on with development. There is just too much graft taking place, but without any punishment to the thieves!
Conviction rate ..please ..we need the numbers..not running around closing ministries and firing people. We need them convicted as well ..not just playing to the public about corruption and only convicted Richard Sakala and Bulaya out of the many they told us were corrupt. That is not good. No wonder corruption is on the upswing. Why not introduce special courts to fast track these cases so people know the govt is serious about corruption
For the ACC to question Judy about the 25,000 hectors piece of land awarded to Amanita Zambia, we, the public assume that this allocation could have been done behind the closed curtains. We are eager to hear more about this allocation. Leave no stone unturned ACC. We all now pretty know that no character is allowed to issue more than 1000 hectors of land to any body without the concert of the president. ACC should crack its whip hard on all the culprits with stiffer penalties to save as a warning on other corrupt characters. The next ministry on the line should be works and supply.
The only thing which will make sense is to bring the culprits to justice, speedily. Let a competent prosecution team do a thorough job of this mess and help expedite sending these thieving officers to jail. People have stopped fearing corruption because no one ever goes in.
What we need in the Land Alienation system is not cracking the whip after the fact, on Officers or individuals found wanting. We need to develop a strict Land Tenure system that will enhance accountability, efficiency and transparency in the way land is allocated. We cannot run that Ministry based on faith in the individuals charged with this responsibility. Zambia needs to develop a comprehensive database that captures land audits and which cannot easily be manipulated. Why do we always have to act after the fact. People have been fired over illegal land allocation before but we have still not put in place measures to curtail the vice. Developing a sound land system may take a long time and gobble up resources. But I believe that we are better off putting in place a system that will stand the test of time. The problem with our politicians today is that they want to deliver promises of development within their 5-10 year mandate. It is not achievable. Plan for now and the future please.
Having worked in the Ministry myself, I think Zambia lacks a comprehensive accountable system be it in the Ministry of Lands or any other ministry. It is suicidal to leave a Commissioner of Lands in charge of approving the alienation of land but he/she is subject to temptation. A system of checks and balances needs to be implemented. You can prosecute and arrest people now, but you are not resolving the main cause. Subsequent officers will still engage in the vice.
Once corruption becomes endemic, you have a real dilemma. Men and women without integrity will always corrupt even the most seemingly air-tight system. At the end of the day only one person or two have to sign a document.
Institutional changes will definitely help but also stiff, swift punishment of culprits will show any future officers that govt is serious. If we get bogged down into another lengthy legal process we might as well forget.
I agree, the Ministry of Finance recently instituted a VERY expensive public finance accountability system they call PEMFAR, with IMF support. Staff from MOFNP and elsewhere were moved to manage this initiative at very attractive perks, office infrastructure was set up and all was done. But even this cant prevent disappearance of K36 trillion.
Corruption is cancerous and almost always terminal; ask Obasanjo.
What we are doing to address it is just wholly insufficient. We have no potent instruments, no efficient mechanisms and no competent prosecution teams. The anticorruption task force has taken up critical resources that ACC needs to do a better job.
Its not enough for Sylvia to say we know the thugs who’re giving land in Kamwala south etc. Get’em to jail and repossess the damn land.
Does anyone know whether the ministry of lands uses a registered system, where all land transferred is entered onto the Lands Registry and becomes searcheable? This would mean that whoever sells the land will be the person who owns it and the buyer will be immediately registered. Do we even have index maps that shows all the land. I know there are planning divisions in all major councils, these should work with Lands to ensure first registration for every land transferred. I thought the minister of Lands is a property lawyer who understands these things….