. Kapata

By STEVEN ZANDE –
LANDS and Natural Resources Minister Jean Kapata has warned that the Government will not tolerate illegal land invasions by people who claim to be cadres.
Ms Kapata urged Zambians to follow procedure when acquiring land, saying that Government would be acting soon to protect private property and to restore sanity in land administration.
“As Government we are not going to tolerate people encroaching on private land in the name of cadrism,” the minister said. “You can’t just invade every space that you find.”
She said this in Balastone area on Wednesday where she undertook an on-the-spot check on a land dispute involving neighbours.
Ms Kapata said the Government was determined to end land encroachments especially that President Edgar Lungu recently directed that the trend be stopped.
The minister said cadres, like any other Zambian, had a right to own land but this should be done lawfully by following procedure.
Ms Kapata, who was in the company of Lands officials, had gone to Balastone to verify allegations that she had authorised Patriotic Front (PF) cadres to allocate and develop land belonging to a private individual.
She said this was false and that the Government would investigate the matter to uncover the truth. This was found to be a boundary dispute between neighbours.
The minister later made another stopover in Libala where some purported cadres had started erecting a car wash on Libala Primary School grounds.
Ms Kapata said this should not be allowed because the place was within Libala Primary School grounds and under Zesco pylons.
She said her ministry would work with the Lusaka City Council (LCC) to issue notices warning traders and motorists to vacate the school premises where they operated from.