The ministry of lands says it will start re-possessing land that has remained undeveloped for some time after the acquisition.
Lands Deputy Minister Davis Mwango says the ministry is aware that many Zambians have acquired land but have kept it idle for some time.
Mr. Mwango says it is important that land that is acquired is developed and used for its intended purpose.
He has told ZNBC news in an interview in Lusaka that his ministry will soon embark on the land audit to take into account how much land is still available.
Mr. Mwango says a lot of Zambians will benefit from the land audit because it will determine how much land is available in the country.
you cant just repose land that has been bought i see a lot of illegalities and corruption in the future ……imagine you brought a plot and are saving up cash to build a house because home loans are non-existent in zambia and the interest rates are too ridiculous…. all of the sudden some cadre comes and reposes……weve heard some many of these stories
According to the rules they actually can, if it has been undeveloped for 18 months.
PF cadres already started stealing people Land. First talk about servicing the same areas?? maybe people have not developed because your stupid and lazy councils have failed to service these areas.
PF is not for life, you will be out f office and people will definitely come for you..
These Ministers are so dull… that sometimes you wonder if they deserve to hold the same positions.
There is so much land which has not yet been surveyed. Survey and allocate that land first before repossessing land which was already surveyed and sold. Once the land is sold the owner determines the schedule for developing it.
Check this out >>>>>
“Billionaires and Mega-Corporations Behind Immense Land Grab in Africa
20+ African countries are selling or leasing land for intensive agriculture on a shocking scale in what may be the greatest change of ownership since the colonial era”
what about the ones which have been invaded by squatters,,will the righfull owners be given another land in compensation or will the ministry help them to get their land back,which they bought with their hard earned money???????????
The law says it should be developed to a value of k5000.only if there is completely no value added and if its more than a yr can the local authority repossez it.
Dear Planzo
All land in Zambia that is titled is leased from the President (as custodian for all Zambians). As part of the lease agreement the tenant (owner) is obliged to develop the land within 2 years. For most title deeds it says a building must be erected with a value of not less than K2000. So a wall fence, etc is legally not classified as development. However a building structure with a value of at least K2000 is OK, One must be aware of the zoning of the land, so if one has an industrial plot but puts up a caretakers house, that doesn’t qualify as development since an industrial building (i.e. a shed or warehouse) must be erected.
The land can be re-posessed if the tenant does not heed a 6 month warning from the Min of Lands.
It’s called grabbing Land from poor Zambians, and selling it to foreigners.
The stink of corruption arises when one considers that any land, including re-posessed land is allocated by one single individual, the Commissioner of Lands, and it is at his exclusive discretion to give it to anyone he sees fit. No committee, no minister, nobody can give out the land except the Commissioner himself.
Reposessed plots worth hundreds of thousands of dollars are given out to cronies for not more than K3000 by the Comissioner. It all gets given to inside henchmen and cadres. This is the reward for helping mobilise an election victory. To the victor go the fruits.
The cadres are astute, knowing which landowners are abroad, and will not get their re-entry warnings. They also help “demolish” small structures on unused plots after giving a few kwacha to idle…
The re-entry process is so corrupt that the new owner builds in all speed. By the time the original owner eventually gets his matter into Court, the land has changed owners several times. The original owner has got no chance. The cadres and front-men, knowing legal challenges are coming dump these plots onto unsuspecting members of the public who know not that trouble is coming.
There should be a committee that oversees land allocation and the results are published in the public domain. The current system is nothing more than an opportunity to loot and plunder.
Lets leave the audit aside, and first put a fair and transparent re-entry and re-allocation system in place, this suggestion will not go down well with those holding the reins in their hands.
Dear greed
No land in Zambia can be given to a foreigner. Thats the law. Unless he holds an Investment Licence.
But somehow nobody seems to know this or apply this.
Land grabbing gets done by pure Zambians from pure Zambians. It is then sold off to foreigners. I have no qualms about a foreigner owning and buying land on a willing buyer willing seller basis. But this crookedness of the system being able to grab land and re-allocate it on the whims of one single individual is bound to attract corruption, an epidemic disease in Zambia that we are genetically prone to.
You need to be in the right circles and money simply flows your way. Land is just one gateway.
Do you see any re-posessions in rural farm lands ? Who wants land there. The greed is for land with…
But which foreigner with money can apply for land without an investment Licence. By the way getting an investment licence is very easy. This even makes it easy for foreigners than Zambians. Because if he has an investment licence and funded by his brothers in India, he can get a huge chunk of land anywhere. this is band. investors should just lease land and not own land.
Foreigners are arriving in large numbers, depriving people of land they have used for centuries. The deals are done secretly. The only thing the local people see is people coming to invade their lands.
Land issues are complex. New PS for lands was a smart crook crook….he knew how to oil politicians. This land audit will end up with the Commissioner doing what he thinks best .A system has to be put in place than merely grabbing land and let Commissioner give land at will as was the case with crooked Pastor Barnaby Mulenga.
“A million Chinese farmers have joined the rush to Africa, according to one estimate, underlining concerns that an unchecked “land grab” not seen since the 19th century is under way.
Some of the world’s richest countries are buying or leasing land in some of the world’s poorest to satisfy insatiable appetites for food and fuel. In the new scramble for Africa, nearly 2.5m hectares (6.2m acres) of farmland in just five sub-Saharan countries have been bought or rented in the past five years at a total cost of $920m (£563m), research shows.
“Lands that only a short time ago seemed of little outside interest are now being sought by international investors to the tune of hundreds of thousands of hectares,” ……
The displaced villagers will be left without land or livelihoods.
These land grabs are benefiting the rich at the expense of the poor.
Why should they grab land in places where services have not been provided. No proper road and water! How can you build?
Minister don’t target poor Zambians in this crusade. Like many other ordinary Zambians how long does one buy land and starts to build genuinely without GRZ providing loans to build houses. What am trying to say is there are individuals cum institutions like Galaun who have kept their vast land for many decades without developing it but no one seems to be talking about it. Now is it fair to grab land from an ordinary Zambian who sweated and payed thru the nose to acquire it when others just got it for mahala?