BY SYLVIA MWEETWA  –

CHIEF Kaindu of Mumbwa District in Central Province has opted to surrender 11,000 hectares of disputed land to the Government following a meeting at the weekend, Mumbwa District Commissioner Sunday Shamabase has disclosed.
Mr Shamabase said he was happy that three Cabinet ministers, among other Government officials, met Chief Kaindu of Mumbwa, who has claimed ownership of the land for more than 20 years.
The land shares its boundary with Chief Chitanda’s area.
Speaking in an interview from Mumbwa yesterday, Mr Shamabase said following the boundary dispute, the Surveyor General’s office ruled that the land in question belonged to Chief Kaindu, which ruling Chief Chitanda disputed and that over the years had brought tension.
He said Chief Chitanda was claiming ownership of 6000 hectares, while Chief Kaindu was claiming 11,000 but that it was good Chief Kaindu had opted to surrender the land to Government for use, I order to end the conflicts.
“I can confirm that Chief Kaindu has decided to surrender the disputed land to the Government but I don’t know what was agreed on with Chief Chitanda,” he said.
He said during the meeting called to find a lasting solution at the weekend, the two chiefs were met separately by a team of  ministers, Professor Nkandu Luo the Chiefs and Traditional Affairs Minister, Tourism and Arts’ Jean Kapata, Lands Minister Mwansa Kapeya, Central Province Minister Obvious Mwaliteta, Central Province Permanent Secretary Edwidge Mutale, Disaster Management and  Mitigation unit (DMMU)’s Patrick Kangwa.
He commended the Government leaders for the initiative and paid tribute to the traditional leader in Mumbwa for accepting to meet the  ministers and that the decision would bring about unity among the two chiefs and the subjects.
He disclosed that the Government was now considering giving the land to the people who have allocated themselves land inside the game management area, so as to reduce on animal-human conflicts.