By KASONDE KASONDE –
TWENTY-TWO chiefs yesterday walked out of a national validation meeting on the proposed National Land Policy chaired by Lands Minister Jean Kapata protesting that they had been excluded from the process of formulating the policy.
House of Chiefs chairperson Chief Ngabwe said the proposed document did not represent the views of the traditional leaders and their subjects.
Chief Ngabwe said the policy was scrutinised in 2006 and that in 2016 the traditional rulers met and rejected the document and asking the ministry to incorporate their ideas, which had not been done.
Ms Kapata tried to calm the ire of the royal highnesses by telling them a draft document of the policy was delivered to the House of Chiefs for their input some time ago but was never returned to her ministry.
Ms Kapata said her ministry was open to dialogue with the traditional leaders to ensure that a proper land policy was put in place.
“Our vision in this is to ensure a Zambia where there is equitable access to secure land ownership by all Zambians, with land administered and managed in a transparent, efficient and manner for sustainable development of the country,” she said.
Chief Ngabwe said the role of traditional leaders was not spelt out in the National Land Policy.
“There is no inclusion of the role of the chiefs in the Land Policy. Who is going to be in charge of issuing the title deeds? We want to work with Government in administering land and preserve peace,” he said.
He said the main concern of traditional rulers was to protect the chieftainship in the country and uphold and preserve the customary land tenure system.
For them to be able to play these roles, the chiefs were looking to the National Land Policy to give them the authority to issue land title so as to provide legal protection for land owners.
Ms Kapata said some of the specific measures proposed in the policy were the same ones that the chiefs were asking for, such as a role in the issuance of certificates of title to customary land.