The Lusaka City Council (LCC) has continued to win back more of its properties and pieces of land in the city which were irregularly awarded to different private individuals and organisations.
Some of the cases are stand no. LUS/12923, also known as the Chinika Hostels, Happy Kids School vs Lusaka City Council – 2014/HP/436 and Trustees of the Apostolic Faith Church vs Lusaka City Council – 2014/HP/1145.
Lusaka Town Clerk Alex Mwansa said the named properties which have been reverted back to the local authority by the courts have been Council property since time immemorial however.
It was recently discovered that Chinika Hostels was subject of a court case commenced in the High Court by Tesno General Dealers who claimed that they were offered the said land by the Ministry of Lands. The Lusaka City Council was not a party to the said action.
As a result of this action Tesno General Dealers were granted possession of the said land and they proceeded to demolish the said hostels. It was after this demolition that the Lusaka City Council became aware of the case.
Following the demolition, a letter was written to the Commissioner of Lands on 26th May, 2015 infoming the Commissioner of Council’s interest in the said property and requesting that the Certificate of Title issued to Tesno General Dealers be cancelled.
The Commissioner of Lands responded in a letter dated 26th May 2015 by notifying Tesno General Dealers about Council’s interest and giving them seven days to show cause why the Commissioner should not cancel the Certificate of title issued to them.
“I am pleased to inform members of the general public that the Certificate of Title issued to Tesno General Dealers was cancelled and land has been reverted to the Council.”
The council will soon decided on what next action to take with the said piece of land considering that there are people who have built on the said piece of property,” Mr. Mwansa said.
In the matter involving Happy Kids School against the Lusaka City Council, the Plaintiff sued the Council for trespass for attempting to construct a fire station on Stand No. 451 of Farm No. 401A.
According to Council records and layout plans, the said land was designated for community development and the Plaintiff claimed an interest based on a Certificate of Title issued by the Commissioner of Lands with intentions of developing a private school. According to the Court Order, LCC will now retain a portion of that land for its intended use.
In the other case, the Plaintiffs sued the Council claiming ownership to Stand No. 400/ 72 in Chawama. The Plaintiff’s sought an injunction in the High Court restraining the Council from evicting the Plaintiff from the plot and an order directing the Defendant to issue an occupancy licence for Plot 400/ 72 Chawama.
The plot in question as a matter of fact belongs to the Lusaka City Council and was acquired in 2012 using Constituency Development Fund (CDF) and the purpose for its acquisition was to build a Clinic and provide health services to the residents of Misisi and Kuku compounds.
The matter has since been dismissed by Order of the High Court and the injunction discharged which means that the Lusaka City Council can proceed with the project the land was meant for.
Recently, Lusaka City Council won back the former UBZ land in a matter in which Husty Mwachilele and Mohamed Yusuf Patel sued LCC each claiming to be the legal owners of stand 3244 Chilumbulu road (former UBZ land).
And Director of Legal Services, Mwape Moono declared that the Council will ensure that all Council property that was irregularly given out or sold, is repossessed.
This is good news and I wish to congratulate the council and the court of law for ensuring what belongs to the public remains that way.
This is positive and will sent a message to political cadres and corrupt white collar boys and girls that law is law . Well done LCC . Extend this to other councils
The council can generate income for its operations
The sad part is that the councilors will still sell these pieces of land & pocket the money.
LCC has lost money in legal fees to repossess the said pieces of land only for councilors to get the same for themselves.
The Looters land is still fresh in our minds.
Why not investigate how and why certificates were issued in the first place ? punish the pipo involved. Why is GRZ so anti–accountability ?
No one is accountable for corruption or any mis-management of funds or goverment property in the this PF GRZ. what kind of example are you setting ?
This is just Lusaka City council trying to clean their dented image. What about the parks and sports facilities that you are selling?? Hmm? Say something about that too.
The council after coming under fire over its sale of public land has mounted its own propaganda. This is what it is. Pure propaganda by L.C.C. to show that it is acting in public interest.
yes indeed. We want the looters park and the parks and gardens nurseries near state house – not plots in Chawama. Who runs and eats money from the council buildings – Stanley Bar, Lusaka Post Office, old independence stadium? And who are the owners of the heroes stadium? This are the real issues not Komboni plots.
Yes indeed @wenye. Trying to demonstrate that they are working but the same pipo illegally allocate it. Hyenas!
How long have these cases been in court? Let’s have councillors and council managers being put behind bars as well as the corrupt entities are still there!!
How about the land that have been invaded by squatters?will the cluncil move in remove them since its illegal??
That’s why I have always believed that ministry of lands official are more corrupt that the police officers! Bernabe mulenga must be fired without hesistation, there are a lot of fake titles issued on many pieces of land and he has benefitted personally in these fake issuance of titles! We know this but corrupt ACC has been protecting him even when the eveidence is overwhelming against ministry of lands officials! Lands needs just to be closed so that new people altogether can take over and clean the mess otherwise future wars on lands will come a result of the reclessness and greediness of those chaps! HE Lungu please fire the chaps and send them to prison, we are tired of their corruption! They have sold any idle state land without survaying pretenting that all is well on the ground!
Lusaka City Council must also go and reclaim land from one Kambwiri mand in Luanshya at the Golf Club!
Sad to see my beloved Zambia walking in the footsteps of Nigeria and Ghana
Personally I cannot buy land from an individual especially a politician. I ask myself that if this maggot can get a plot why can’t I also be legally given one?
Yes this is image building by LCC. They don’t talk about high value land and or properties like Northmead Car Parrk because there is big money changing hands there.
I tell you that the day you appoint a white man as Town Clerk all forms of corruption will disappear in all councils. The whites who bought the mines put in virtually nothing as they found all requisites such locos, rigs, labour etc. They made profit which our Zambian managers failed with the same labour.
Please don’t expose your ignorance & inferiority complex wantonly. Yes zambian management had/has its problems largely due to politics rather than the managers themselves. Just look at what’s happening at ZRL. Copper price during zccm was 2000 usd unlike 5600 to 8000usd post privatisation. Zccm was never refunded VAT. It suffered from arbitrary windfall taxes by got were excess funds above budgeted copper price were confiscated at BOZ. Meanwhile it had to buy vehicles for Zp, army etc run njanji commuter train in Lsk and sponsor socialist unip congresses and maintain football clubs etc. How come these same zambian managers perform in SA, Bots etc. We have to sort out our politics. Thats why winter’s rainbow socialist agenda is laughable.
14.1?Quest – You are the one who is ignorant. I am very close to the mines so I can confidently tell you that you blacks have failed call it complex or what ever. The whites don’t have personal to holder cars like ZCCM blacks used to. Zambian managers used ZCCM to buy them even simple things like toilet paper. Admit failure and you will succeed.
Do you know what a maanger got in ZCCM before privatisation K2.8 million (old currency) /approx 800usd per month. Contrast this with the so called expat’s salaries (20 000usd tax free) per month. Secondly look at the ploitical interferance in ZESCO, ZAMTEL etc. Yes our POLITICIANS must admit failure not pasing the buck on engineers and managers! The a lot of Zambians holding senior positions around the world including companies like google and they are ticking! So what makes them fail to perform at home in parastatals?
I think who ever is found to be wanting in all these corruption cases they must be executed publicly for all to see that such vices do not pay. The ministry of lands is indeed the most rotten of all ministries.
Don’t just do reversals the culprits live to steal another day. For once bite.
City Council should also reclaim land from CK Marble, people are suffering. no electricity and water
This is good news for lsk council and i think even KMC kabwe council shud also take a leaf and grab land which belongs to council time in memorial,i know one land in that kabwe mukobeko township which belonged to council and the local community where there was a community hall and a play park bt unfortunately it was grabed by one- former lands minster GLADY NYIRONGO in unexplained circumstances so pliz kabwe council grab that land and give it back to the coomunity as LSK COUNCIL ARE DOING KEEP IT UP LSK COUNCI.Gery gud gery gud………………….
This is good news for lsk council and i think even KMC kabwe council shud also take a leaf and grab land which belongs to council time in memorial,i know one land in that kabwe mukobeko township which belonged to council and the local community where there was a community hall and a play park bt unfortunately it was grabed by one- former lands minster GLADYS NYIRONGO in unexplained circumstances so pliz kabwe council grab that land and give it back to the coomunity as LSK COUNCIL ARE DOING KEEP IT UP LSK COUNCI.Gery gud gery gud………………….