THE Government’s ban with immediate effect of the issuance of land to new applicants until councils countrywide clear the backlog of people on their waiting lists, is welcome.
According to the chairperson of the Taskforce on illegal land allocation and acquisition, Panji Kaunda who announced the development, all councils countrywide are expected to adhere to this directive.
Just a fortnight ago, this column featured a write-up on the need for Government to enhance measures which would lead to zero-tolerance to matters of illegal land allocation.
Col Kaunda’s taskforce deserves commendation for moving proactively in working to seal the loopholes which have led to an increase in cases of illegal land allocation.
There is no way that councils can be asking for new applications for plots when there are so many people already on their waiting lists.
It is an undeniable fact that these problems surface from the councils as the institutions tasked to allocate land.
While on this topic, I have this week decided to feature a case raised by a reader of the previous article on land allocation.
Katai Chisha, one of the interested readers from the Copperbelt Province sent mail raising allegations about illegal land allocation by Kalulushi Municipal council.
Mr Chisha’s message read;
I bought a plot from a Zambian who was traveling out of the country for work. This person legally got a plot from Kalulushi council.
Before buying it, I consulted the council and they recommended that it was a clear issue because the owner had even applied for a title.
Later on, we found ourselves fighting for a plot with a lady who was represented by the current Mayor, he was deputy Mayor then and he claimed the plot belonged to his sister.
But my questions are;
Are these papers I have not genuine? And if they are not genuine, how did they reach Ministry of Lands and get approved.
Is it possible for the Ministry of Lands to issue two different titles on the same plot?
I would advise Mr Chisha to take his case forward to the law enforcement agencies so that this matter can be handled fairly and whoever is the guilty party brought to book.
I re-echo one of my views on matters of land administration that reforms in the land sector should be enhanced with the introduction of a portal which will enable Government easily track irregularities in the allocation procedure.
This should be the gist of operations in the Ministries of Lands and Local Government because at this stage it is still unclear how much land the country has in stock.
It is really difficult to track how much land has been allocated legally and illegally because information on the availability of the resource is meager.
Land is an asset which should be allocated equitably among the people but the case in Zambia is that some are having more than others.
Send comments and contributions to jameskunda19@gmail.com or 0973182006