A number of senior Council Officers and Counsellors have been named in a cases of illegal land allocation in Kitwe on the Copperbelt.
During the Adhoc Committee investigating cases of illegal allocation of land in Kitwe which commenced sittings yesterday, names of the Officers and Councilors at the City Council came out prominently as perpetrators of illegal land allocation.
Several members of the public who appeared before the committee, claimed to have acquired land through named council staff members and Councilors who work with private land agents.
The complainant submitted that they have paid money for the land to the Councilors and Council officers but have not been given documents to support their land acquisition.
Making a submission before the committee, one of the Leaders of the Luyando Community, Howard Mwema explained that his members are in need of offer letters for their plots.
Mr Mwema said the Luyando Community Association had identified a piece of land in Mindolo-North, which is believed to be idle and applied to the Ministry of Lands for the same portion of land.
Mr Mwema said the Association paid money amounting to K30, 000 for surveying, which the Ministry of Land asked for and expect land to be made available for them.
The failure by the Ministry of Land to give them plots after paying led to the association going on the ground to demarcate the plots to its members.
“We followed all the procedures when acquiring the land, we went to the Ministry of Lands and we have been here at the council,” he said.
The association leaders have been allocating land illegally to its members in Mindolo-North, which led to the demolition of structures by the council and Mopani, the owners of the land in question.
Meanwhile Copperbelt Commissioner of Police Charity Katanga, who is part of the committee reminded Mr Mwema that this is the third time that structures are being demolished in the area because the piece of land belonged a private developer.
Mrs Katanga said the law enforcement officers demolished structures belonging to members of the association first in 2014 and then later this year.
She however, said there is need for the Ministry of Land to communicate to the associations or individuals that apply for land on the status of the particular piece of land.
But Copperbelt Region Chief Lands Commissioner Harry Shamende said communication was made to the association on the status of the land in Mindolo- North, where structures were recently demolished.
Mr Shamende said the members of the association had actually built houses on land belonging to Mopani Copper Mines.
Kitwe Town Clerk Seke Mbulo also confirmed that the association was informed about the status of the land but that they went ahead to build the houses.
And Adhoc Committee Chairperson Adam Jere warned the leaders of the association to stop collecting money from members on the pretext that they have land to offer.
Mr Jere said should the association leaders continue collecting money from members, the land administrators will ensure that they are punished.
He also asked the leaders to always inform their members whenever they receive communication from the local authority.
He further told the association that the Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit (DMMU), the council and the District Commissioner’s office have identified a piece land where the members of Luyando community will be relocated.
The Kitwe City Council was recently suspended due to suspected cases of illegal land allocation.
When is this exercise coming to Chingola? Particularly Chingola South.
People are taking up land irresponsibly too much
Why do we have more crooked councillors in Kitwe? It is in Kitwe where a named councillor about four years ago was even jailed after having allocated illegal plots to hundreds of Ndeke residents. The problem with Kitwe Council borders on lack of proper accountability stemming from a lack of supervision from higher authorities. Every character is in his own world. Mayangalile.
We thank you. The pf government does not tolerate ignorance and corrupt tendencies. To reduce pressure on our prisons let us introduce dirty slaps
They are targeting suspended mayor, proper witch hunt, ati he did not greet the first lady as if it is a requirement by law when infact not, you don’t force greetings, why are you stifling peoples liberties all over, office of first lady is not even constitutional, first lady is as good as my wife at home, there should be nothing spectacular or fanfare about a wife to a President.
Wht will it take to put Zambia right? Prayer by the PF has failed.
Former mayor is being targeted for not greeting first Lady whose office of first Lady is not even a constitutional office
Zambians should just stop getting infected by “building a house” disease. There are no teachers in rural areas because teachers want job in Mindolo where they have a plot.
Styupid idyots.
A prayer for our earth
All-powerful God,
you are present in the whole universe
and in the smallest of your creatures.
You embrace with your tenderness all that exists.
Pour out upon us the power of your love,
that we may protect life and beauty.
Fill us with peace, that we may live
as brothers and sisters, harming no one.
O God of the poor,
help us to rescue the abandoned
and forgotten of this earth,
so precious in your eyes.
Bring healing to our lives,
that we may protect the world and not prey on it,
that we may sow beauty,
not pollution and destruction.
Touch the hearts
of those who look only for gain
at the expense of the poor and the earth.
Teach us to discover the worth of each thing,
to be filled with awe and contemplation,
to recognize that we are profoundly…
KZ ,How did you and your friends acquire so much prime land in Lusaka ?
Yes it is the former mayor being targeted for not greeting a non constitutional holder ,a first lady. There should be no consequences for not greeting a first lady, a first lady is just like any other woman, the fact that she is married to a President does not give her any edge. I have told my wife, should I become President, there should be no fan fare of her being first lady, this should just be a title, and not that she is first in the country. NO
Lungu’s Zambia. This cannot happen in Kagame’s Rwanda.
Kongola by hard work and sacrifice. Working with sleepless nights. Try it
How about forest 27 land? Why are we concentrating on the Kitwe one?
Yes, how about forest 27. When is the inquiry coming up. Lets not just concentrate on the Kitwe land. Just like the privatization inquiry, lets also have the forest 27 inquiry, how was the land acquired, when were adverts placed, who degazetted the place minus any environmental impact assessment, lets know the truth please. What is good for the gander must be good for the….
Yes, let’s also look at forest 27 issues