By MOFFAT CHAZINGWA –

LOCAL authorities should ensure that land is distributed in an equitable manner to all residents regardless of their financial or social status, the Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflection (JCTR) has said.
JCTR programme officer in charge of faith and justice programmes, Kizito Chalwe said land was an important aspect to the empowerment of every individual and as such the need to ensure that all citizens regardless of their status were given access to it.
Mr Chalwe said this in Kitwe during a JCTR workshop on land management that focused on land problems in the district.
He said councils should see to it that access to land ownership was not a preserve of the rich in society, if the problem of poverty was to be effectively addressed.
“It is a common fact that the demand for land in the country has risen to the level where only the rich are being favoured when it comes to allocation of land but this should not be the case,” he said.
Mr Chalwe said lack of access to land ownership was one of the major causes for poverty among the majority citizens particularly in rural areas.
He said councils should see to it that access to land was not restricted only to a few rich individuals.
“Land ownership is one of the first steps to economic and social empowerment of citizens because in order for one to engage in farming, they need a piece of land and so forth,” he said.
Mr Chalwe said there was need for local authorities to avoid using the economic status of an individual as the basis for denying people access to land ownership when playing the role of land agents for the Ministry of Lands.