By JANE MWANSA –
KITWE Mayor Christopher Kan’gombe has said inadequate planning of housing units has resulted in the mushrooming of more than 18 unplanned settlements in Kitwe.
Mr Kan’gombe said the mushrooming of the informal settlements had brought a number of challenges in the district, such as lack of  proper water supply, because the land had not been serviced well before being developed.

Kango’mbe

Speaking when the Parliamentary Committee on Infrastructure and Housing Development paid a courtesy call on him yesterday, Mr Kan’gombe said increasing the land development fund was one of the ways of providing cheaper housing units for residents.
“One of the reasons leading to the unplanned settlements is poor planning, for people to settle near cemeteries, means we need to be proactive in our planning and committees such as this should be engaged,” He said.
Committee chairperson Maxwell Kabanda said the committee sought to find key players such as the National Pension Scheme Authority among others in offloading cheaper housing units in the community.
He said the country was in a position to construct affordable houses, because of the availability of natural resources such as timber and precious stones that were used in the construction.
Mr Kabanda said Zambia had a housing deficit of about 1.5 million and that if all the natural resources were fully utilised, cheaper houses could be made available for civil servants and other beneficiaries.