Lusaka Town Clerk, Alex Mwansa, says a procedure was followed in the sale of the Libala Tennis Court which has raised public debate.
In a statement availed to the media in Lusaka, Mr Mwansa said the move was taken in order to raise revenue for the council to enable it resolve some of its immediate needs.
He said the local authority from time to time assesses the performance of its assets with regard to the contribution to the overall income and how the various assets could enhance revenue for the council.
The Town Clerk explained that this is done to ensure the best returns are obtained from its assets.
He said the Libala Tennis Court has been inactive for a long time adding to the facility being encroached.
Mr Mwansa said it was for this reason that the council decided to sell the sports facility to a suitable developer identified through open in bidding to revitalize the amenity.
He further explained that this process commenced a long time and the council attempted to obtain a loan in October 2011 to redevelop the land but were unsuccessful.
He said per procedure the item was further required to be reported to the full council and the meeting was held on April 13, 2015.
Mr Mwansa said the council duly approved the recommendation of the joint committee in the meeting and the council resolved that the Libala Tennis Court be advertised for sale.
However, Libala Ward 7 Councillor Emmanuel Chanda has revealed that there has never been an approval for the sale of the council property.
Mr Chanda has since petitioned Lusaka Mayor to halt any transactions to establish what really happened.
He said there were a lot of inconsistencies in the process which could have led to the sale of the piece of land were sold off, especially that the decision was confirmed outside the normal channel of council business.
Mr Chanda said the processes used did not allow for public participation which the residents have refused to accept, as they were not consulted.
“I have petitioned the Mayor of Lusaka to halt all activities surrounding the development plans for the said five hectares of land which included the Looters Basketball Court until all questions are answered.
“There were a lot of inconsistencies in the manner the property was sold off and the residents have asked me to get to the bottom of all this and find out the truth about the whole matter,” he said.
Mr Chanda said the council minutes were still not yet approved and wondered how the committees concerned undertook to approve the sale and conditions thereof of a suitable developer.
“How was the decision arrived at when the council minutes have not been approved? And how did the committee sit to look at the items in a document not yet approved, to table the terms of reference for the developer?” he questioned.
The Minister of Local Government and Housing Dr John Phiri has demanded a report on the alleged sale of council properties around the capital city, and a report was submitted to his office last week.
The council said report included all other assets claimed to be non-performing as they did not provide value addition to the local authority.
Some councillors have dubiously sold off some council property and pocketed the money, which has riled residents.
Some individuals have title to some LCC property despite the local authority having no record of sale at the Civic Centre.
Why not just lease it out instead of selling the land. Awe sure. Ba kolwe monkey.
You sale a piece of land and pay salaries as well as buy new vehicles among other things. How does that make the asset performing going forward? When you sale off parks it means whoever cannot be redeployed is fired translating into job losses. It also means that the Council no longer has a Parks Dept. Like @panono suggests leasing out the property could have been better.
They are just a bunch of criminals. When they were selling the Mwatusunga Road Nursery, it was only advertised in the newspapers 2 days before the closing date for applications. Yet according to the offer letters the advertisements had been running for 3 weeks, which was not the case. The plots were sold on a first come first serve basis meaning that they could offer one plot to hundreds of applicants and whoever paid first gets it. The forms were being sold for ZMW5,000. The fee was set so high deliberately to exclude the poor. What a country!!!!
Lesa akamikanda nempiya mwaiba shikashale.
Sometimes you wonder if any leaders left anymore to lookout for the collective interests and well-being of our country and communities.
I am sure this matter will simply die a natural death and no one will spend not even a minute behind bars. This is what happens when a CANCER (CORRUPTION) is not treated early and left to metastasize—it becomes a bigger problem requiring radical medical intervention to treat. Unfortunately, it can also kill—and right now the cancer of corruption is killing our morals and nation.
One would hope the ACC and Police are watching this matter carefully and will move in as quickly as possible before evidence vanishes. God forbid they are waiting for instructions from the President, as seems to always be the case, for them to get involved!
We used to insult KK and his administrations that they were illiterates. We cried for younger and educated folks. We got both after kicking out KK. But what have we gotten since the advent of the so called younger and educated leaders? Well, only SOPHISTICATED WAYS OF STEALING and CORRUPTION.
Right from the beginning, starting with the privatisation scheme, all the so called young and educated leaders have done is find ways to enrich themselves at the expense of the COLLECTIVE GOOD. This became tolerated, praised, and admired. The cancer has now spread to every facet, institution, and govt level. Not even our courts and law enforcement branches are spared!
Kaunda and his colleagues may have been illiterates, but at least they had some morals, integrity and a sense of duty.
Where is president Lungu?
Mwansa said “The local authority from time to time assesses the performance of its assets with regard to the contribution to the overall income and how the various assets could enhance revenue for the council”……..
At the rate these guys are going, one day they will sell the Civic Centre and then tells it was a non-performing asset.
Folks Lungu is critically ill and the PF minions are silent about it.
Kaseba is back from hiding and trying to position her self as the next PF president after rumour has it that Lungu is a critical condition in some hospital in Israel.
Very soon the truth will come out and the hospital where he is will be known.
Folks Lungu is critically ill and the PF minions are silent about it.
Kaseba is back from hiding and trying to position her self as the next PF president after rumour has it that Lungu is in a critical condition in some hospital in Israel.
Very soon the truth will come out and the hospital where he is will be known.
This is just the tip of the ice burg as far as PF ‘s thieving and corruption is concerned.
I am intrigued to see some PF staunch supporters now realising that their PF party is a bunch of thieves. Could it be that, the bread crumbs they used to enjoy out of vuvuzelaing for PF has dried up and they have been left in limbo? Most likely yes.
To honest, some of us have been very critical of the PF government right from the start have been very consistent with condemning the PF ‘s corruption, tribalism, and broad day light thieving.
One good thing however is that, we still have the ZWD which snoops each every rotten moves PF is making to deprive the citizens of their wealth. To ZWD I am saying keep it up bravo!
In Tonga there is a saying that, “Chuchu ufhwa tukulukulu”
This is where the FBI (USA) would move in swiftly and people would be resigning and heading to jail in no time. But Zambia being Zambia, this normal business at the council office. Corruption is the order of the day.
Was the offer to sale this land advertised? And what were the other offers?
That town clerk should be fired asap he is very dull he must be probed.
The caliber of leadership gets even much worse at town level like it is at national level..surely how can you make utterances about sale of public assets being in order and following procedures when you do not have any paper in your hand back up your statements. Where is Lubinda why is he not refuting all these allegations of him being linked to these deals?
The Chingola Municipal Council has bought a fleet of vehicles for itself, ask what service it renders? Zero!! No wonder councillors are there only to get plots for themselves and cannot question such decisions.
The issue is you sold it cheaply to fellow councilors who have resold it to foreigners but why did the councils not sell directly to the chinese without consulting stake holders
In Western countries councils rarely sale outright if they do that development being constructed will benefit the local community…even councils who own football stadia rarely sale to merge rich clubs they lease as they understand the power of revenue streams than a lump sum payment.
Why sell, why not provide long term lease?, are we going to see some leadership from GRZ, or are you all too busy stealing?
I have told you that we need the ZWD. They revealed this scam a week or over a week ago while the Post, Times and ZDM reporters were sleeping or drinking kachasu with Mulenga Sata and Lubinda and others. Where on earth do councils sell land or property without advertising in in local papers? Lungu should show leadership here and have all those involved prosecuted if he is not himself involved
The town clerk is part of the theft, ati we could not get a loan to develop the place, ???? which bank would refuse to give a loan for the development of 5 hectors in a prime location ????
This is the same city council complaining they have no assets to raise revenue ? yet the councillors sell a prime council plot among them selves and resell to Chinese.
PF supporters you see how your party is striping Zambia ? nothing can be done to the guilty because the lot of their leaders are thieves leading by example.
QUESTION THIS:
Kabwata Constituency office land already sold
School sports fields
Can everybody check out in their wards where else their area councilors are building? Find out and tell us, we are interested to know.
they have acquired huge pieces of land for themselves and are building quickly…this is all coming from such deals.
Let us get interested
No 2! The FBI is the DPP who was kidnapped and has been taken out of circulation and now thieving and pilfering is free for all!
Incompetency, this is what happens when people that know nothing are given power!
I was Reading an article by a Obvious samatton mwaliteta, for the first time he said something sensible, by saying that selling land to foreigners should be stopped because most of them buy prime areas now.
Selling of Libala recreation land is pure thefty and greediness.Leasing such places is the best.But with the hungry dogs we have in PF, awe kukosa
Nam 2- zambia 1 latest in windhoek namibia right now
LCC is broke…. Starting to sell off katandu yamu bond
I tought that this little called Mwansa from Mufulira, would stop his habbit of conman. Just tell the truth Mr. Mwansa. Just admit that you are corrupt and resign.
Nothing constructive comes from a Bemba person. In this case it was either corruptly decided or stolen. Hear Musonda vs Chanda in this saga.
I smell corruption. Arrest the culprits including Mulenga Sata and Lubinda. Mwansa is part of the corruption. Mr Chanda should be supported. Not every Bemba is corrupt although a good number of them are. where is Changwa? I have been waiting for him at the airport to come and take action
If the minutes regarding this subject were not approved by the committee, those involved in the transaction must resign without fail. Additionally a vote of no confidence must be passed on all councilors that supported the sale of the land under discussion. If it means picketing at the Civic Center to send a strong message to the councilors, let it be done. Residents of Libala must work as a team on this one. If you care about this land, you better act. By now your community would have had a modern Community Center, not the colonial Wardington Center. Get back the land. One Zambia One Nation.
Who is the purported developer? Why this hide and seek and how come we have so much property being sold now than ever before? I smell a rat! We don’t want to end up like Greece because some selfish people were busy lining their pockets instead of improving the status of the economy!
In Zambia, when they say they followed procedure it means they were paid by the developer who had an interest in it to do the formalities behind closed doors. That property belonged to the residents and they should have been consulted prior to the sale.