LUSAKA City Council (LCC) has approved a K72,793,527 supplementary budget.
The local authority has also approved a reduction in residential and commercial land rates.
Lusaka mayor George Nyendwa said in an interview shortly after a full council meeting yesterday that the municipality has approved a revised valuation roll and resolved to sell pieces of land that have remained dormant for many years.
“We made this decision as a council last year and we are going to make sure that it is implemented. I would like to emphasise that no play parks are going to be sold by the council and if there are reports of parks sold, the council will definitely repossess them, we need children in our communities to have places from which they can play games and interact when they are not in school,” he said.
Mr Nyendwa said sale of council property is transparent and urged residents to take advantage of the sale.
“We are doing this exercise in a transparent manner and we want everyone to participate as long as they have money to buy the property. Apart from earning the local institution additional revenue to be used in service delivery, the other main purpose of the sale of property is to pay off terminal benefits to 137 retirees,” he said.
And LCC chairman for finance, human resource and general purposes Chrispin Kabole said the council has approved a reduction in ground rates and an increase in the value of properties.
Mr Kabole said LCC will benefit more through revenue generation because people will be required to pay rates depending on the value of the property.
“People will pay more not because of the rate but based on properties value. I would urge the general public to make use of their properties because the value of property is very important as it may be used as an investment to earn more money,” he said.
Mr Kabole said LCC reduced residential land rates from 0.2 percent to 0.125 percent and commercial or institutional land rates have been reduced from 0.4 percent to 0.2 percent.
There’s nowhere where it says LCC will reverse the sale of play parks. Instead the PFoolish Mayor says that the sales were transparent and people are invited to participate in these sales!
I am surprised too with this kind of rubbish reporting…
Do it quickly and without fail. cage the culprits whoever they are
Quote:
“I would like to emphasise that no play parks are going to be sold by the council and if there are reports of parks sold, the council will definitely repossess them, we need children in our communities to have places from which they can play games and interact when they are not in school,”.
I am lost. Someone help to explain!
Weren’t these parks not dormant for so long that Council leased or sold them? What guarantee is there that this time around Council can fully utilize them? I hope this move is extended to Looters Tennis Court, which was dormant, sold to the Chinese ?
DO WE STILL HAVE PLAY PARKS IN ZAMBIA? IT’S A SHAME TO HAVE A COUNTRY OF HEADLESS CIVIC LEADERS WHO SELL PARKS. THIS MEANS ALL CIVIC LEADERS IN ZAMBIA DON’T KNOW THE PURPOSE OF OPEN SPACE IN TOWN LOCATIONS.
Comedy in Zambia. The Local Government Minister says the sale of the Libala play park was lawful and the mayor is talking of repossession. What utter confusion!