. Kampyongo
By NAKUBIANA SHABONGO –
Government has warned citizens to refrain from buying land from people masquerading as Patriotic Front (PF) cadres.
Home Affairs Deputy Minister, Stephen Kapyongo warned that people buying land from unscrupulous people risk throwing their money in a bottomless pit but that Government would deal with culprits.
Addressing hundreds of people in Greenroof area of Kanyama ward 10 yesterday, Mr Kampyongo said Government would ensure it protected people from being swindled through land acquired legally.
He said the more than 800 households that are squatting on a Government piece of land in Kanyama Township would be allowed to continue staying there because it was not the wish of the State to displace people.
“We would have destroyed the houses but we had a meeting and resolved that you write your names and pay penalty fees as the people you paid were not the owners of the land,” he said.
Mr Kampyongo said President Michael Sata’s love for the people of Zambia was the reason Government had not demolished the houses despite the structures being illegal.
The squatters were allocated land during the MMD regime by unscrupulous people who did not even give them any documentation.
Local Government and Housing Deputy Minister Forrie Tembo said the PF was put into Government through the peoples’ confidence and that it would be unwise to turn against them and their needs.
Mr Tembo said the country was governed by rules that needed to be followed but some Councilcors were trying to confuse the procedure of acquiring land through dubious allocations.
Kanyama ward 10 councillor, Aggrey Masumo said the number of illegal land allocation cases in the constituency had increased to 2000.
Mr Masumo said the previous administration had allowed cadres to issue land adding that issues of illegal land allocation would not be repeated in the PF regime as it was a party for the poor.
Recently, Government launched a task force comprising Ministries of Land, Natural Resources and Environmental Protection, Home Affairs and Local Government and Housing through the President’s directive to curb illegal allocation.
