. SCOTT

By CHARITY MOONGA –
VICE-President Dr Guy Scott has bemoaned the continued harassment of indigenous Zambians on their land.
Dr Scott said it was sad that some traditional leaders were bending the rules by grabbing land from innocent people.
He said the issue of land in Zambia had continued to give him sleepless nights because innocent Zambians were suffering.
Dr Scott said this at the Press Freedom committee of the Post discussion programme at Southern Sun on Monday evening.
“Some of the chiefs have thought that if they bend the rules they can benefit from the sale of land,” he said.
He explained that all land in Zambia was vested in the hands of the President but chiefs had continued to give land even amid serious concerns.
He said it was sad that the problem of land in Zambia had been there for a long time.
Dr Scott pledged Government’s determination to work with the Chiefs and other stakeholders to sort out the issue of land meant for the poor people.
“We can try so many things as Government, like the social cash transfer scheme but as long as land keeps being grabbed from innocent people, it will not help us,”.
“We need to work with the Lands Ministry for the benefit of the people. People are being kicked out in Luano Valley after their land has been grabbed despite having lived there for many years,” he said.
He further cited Chiawa where there was no through road to the river as land had been grabbed by people from Lusaka or South Africa.
He said the issue of land had the capacity to destabilise a country, as had been witnessed in some States.
“I hope this issue can amicably be sorted out here in Zambia,” Dr Scott said.
On the general economy Dr Scott said he was pleased with the progress the economy had made and commended the private sector for its contribution.
He said there was also need to boost the agriculture sector which had continued to be overburdened by the fertiliser support programme and the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) purchasing programme.
He said that when the PF Government came into power, it had to pay K3.2m to the agriculture sector.
Dr Scott further urged Zambians to work with Government and help stabilise the Kwacha.
On the Constitution, Dr Scott said there was no need to overhaul the Constitution and that Zambians should not make a Constitution based on someone.
“Let us think about the possible evolution in the future as we consider a Constitution for Zambia,” he said.
He said not so many things were wrong with the current Constitution but that was what the draft Constitution by the technical committee was portraying.
He said Government would look at the Constitution before giving it to the people as it was the one that tasked the Technical committee to do the job.
Dr Scott urged all Zambians not to politicise the Constitution but handle it properly to ensure the exercise was completed in good time.