Thursday, March 28, 2024

200 displaced Mindolo North families residents complain

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Erected tents at Helen Kaunda Secondary School grounds for the homeless Mindolo North squatters whose houses where demolished
Erected tents
at Helen Kaunda Secondary School grounds for the homeless Mindolo
North squatters whose houses where demolished

THE fate of over the 200 displaced Mindolo North families currently squatting within Helen Kaunda Schools grounds has not yet been determined with less than two months now remaining before they are expected to vacate the area.

The area, serving as a transit camp, was set up by the Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit (DMMU) to provide relief accommodation for the Mindolo North families whose houses were razed in June this year following a joint Kitwe City Council and State Police operation to demolish houses built on illegally acquired plots in the area.

But with less than two months to go before the deadline given to the displaced residents to vacate the transit camp, a cloud of uncertainty still surrounds the homeless families as no agreement for alternative site had been reached with the council.

Ireen Mukuka, a representative of the displaced Mindolo families complained in an interview yesterday that their fate was still hanging in balance, as they did not know where to go when the September 22, 2014 deadline given to them to vacate the transit elapses.

“We were told that we will be accommodated here in the tents for three months only after that we will be expected to leave the transit camp and time is slowing ticking away without the council or any relevant authority indicating to us where we shall go thereafter,” she said.

Ms Mukuka said the homeless families were eager to know whether the council would provide them with alternative site.

“We have been crying for an alternative site for us to move from here and Mayor Mr Kelvin Sinyangwe when he last visited here promised to get back to us but it’s now two weeks and he has not come back to tell us the official position whether they will give an alternative site for us to relocate to,” Ms Mukuka said.

She said life living in at the transit camp was extremely unbearable as the tents had subjected them to coldness.

“Illnesses such as coughs and flu especially among children have been the order of the day here and we just want wait to move out of this place,” she said.

Ms Mukuka who stated that five babies had been born right at the transit camp with 17 pregnant expected to give birth appealed to the relevant authorities to feel pity for homeless Mindolo residents by quickly providing alternative land for them to construct permanent structures.

Ms Mukuka said worse still, the displaced families were badly crowded at the transit camp because of limited space.

Mr Sinyangwe when contacted said the council was still analyzing the situation involving the homeless Mindolo residents with the view to finding a lasting solution.

5 COMMENTS

    • Unfortunately some rotten eggs in government does not mean you should throw the whole basket away, there are many hard working government officials. These civil servants that sold land not theirs to sell must and I’m sure will be made an example of after they have been disciplined by the law. However the people that bought the land should be compensated in one form or the other taking into consideration their plight. These are bad habits inherited from the previous MMD government.

  1. They should all go back to their respective villages! They have where they came from. I do not support illegal land grabs.

  2. Lesson learned the hard way by both the Councillors who are in the habit of selling ILLEGAL or any plot outside their mandate and those who are in a hurry to buy or grab land without following the normal land procedures. Tekwesha, lekeni, moneni utulufumo.

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