Former Lusaka Deputy Mayor Portipher Tembo has appealed to Members of Parliament to take an interest in the sale of the National Resources Development College to Chinese state run firm AVIC International.
Agriculture Permanent Secretary Julius Shawa on Friday told the Parliamentary Accounts Committee chaired by Kaputa Member of Parliament Nexus N’gonga that the rationale behind the sale of NRDC was due to widespread encroachment.
“Regarding the issue of NRDC, let me state that the Ministry has not sold the NRDC land. What we have done is to fully take stock of the current situation with regard to NRDC and what has emerged overall over that land is that if you recall going back the years, NRDC also had a big piece of land called the ranch, which is now called Obama and has been turned into a compound basically, that was NRDC land. What NRDC has been left with is the one along Great East Road,” Mr Shawa said.
“It wasn’t a sale as such. Having looked and assessed the current situation where infrastructure is dilapidated, even the land on Great East Road, apart from dilapidation of the infrastructure, there has also been an encroachment from Mtendere compound there. In fact, the college said ‘Look, let’s put a wall fence (sic) to make sure that no more land is taken, people were just encroaching and building nearer to the college.”
Mr. Shawa confirmed that the new owners of NRDC, AVIC International, would build a new campus on the 1,160 hectare land given to it by Chief Shakumbila in 2010.
And commenting on the sale of the land, Mr Tembo said selling NRDC land along Great East Road to a Chinese investor and relocating the college to Mumbwa goes to show how we Zambians don’t value land.
Mr Tembo who is also former PF Chawama Ward Councillor said the transaction must be reversed.
“Reverse the sale of NRDC land. Why not sale that Mumbwa land to a Chinese and leave the prime one to Zambians?” he asked.
He added, “Citizens must demand to know what is happening on NRDC college land and Chimbokaila prison land. Our MPs must learn to discuss and interrogate issues that affect Zambians in Parliament. We need MPs to be vocal and speak loudly like the South African Parliament.”
In May 2017, Government and AVIC International Zambia Limited signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the proposed development of a new campus for the Natural Resources Development College.
The agreement was signed by Agriculture Minister Dora Siliya and AVIC International representatives in Lusaka and Ms Siliya said government is committed to improving infrastructure to enable more students enrol in agricultural colleges.
Ms Siliya said the cost of the project and time frame will be determined after AVIC provides government with a proposed design.
She said the college will be constructed on 1,600 hectares of land that government has acquired from Senior Chief Shakumbila of Shibuyunji district.
In short pf has lost control over land, how would a government be scared of land encroachment in well organised and systematic society. Very soon we will hear parking space near heroes cholera centre has been sold to avoid encroachment, then it will be national parks to avoid encroachment,…..
Sell it.
It is a sorry state
The Chinese will run it better
Thanks
BB2014,2016
The State House is next on sell, AVIC will build state-of-the-art building for Edgar. How much was that new state house.
I partly blame the so called educated Zambians who reside within the country for letting this corrupt regime continue to sell the land and country to foreigners. The only hope is that the next President to come into office, in 2021, will be patriotic enough to reverse all these illegal dealings and get back the land from these foreigners. Also, allowing uneducated, naive and unexposed chiefs to be negotiating with sophisticated foreigners in land deals is a huge mistake. Please, do not allow chiefs to be selling land directly to foreigners. The government has to approve all land deals that involve foreigners, especially where they’re buying large chunks of land. Why don’t you Zambians understand that land is what makes a country, and if you sell all the land to foreigners you have no…
(Continued)… country left?
Where is the opposition kanshi, do we have them in parliament, really?
This is the type of things they should be making noise about……Zambian politics leaves a lot to be shocked about. D.A.M.N !!!
What will be left of the country after Jonathan’s PF/MMD. Jonathan is a coward he wants to steal everything there is to steal. MCS could have not envisaged any of this. MCS was a patriot and a son of the soil whos could have not sacrificed a piece of Zambia now this man masquarding as a President his betrayed the Zambian people. so sad.
Totally agree with your Mr Tembo. Why doesn’t the government evict the people encroaching? If they can remove vendors from the CBD, removing encroachers cannot be a problem. And if they want to sale the NRDC land, why not sell it to a Zambian? Why give all good land to foreigners!!!!
The ag minister signed an agreement without knowin the design, surely the design is of orime importance as it will dictate cost and relevant infrastructure for the sight.
Strange way to do business
The problem PF made, was to get huge sums of money for campaign from the Chinese. now its time to payback .so they are just being dictated to by the Chinese.
The way things are going in this country if left uncontrolled, i can foresee all prime land being given to the Chinese before 2021.
Motto: Zambia for Chinese (under the able leadership of ECL)
Memorandum of understanding is not a contract. They have sold land in exchange for a promise that the Chinese will construct another campus on virgin land in rural area with no water telephone and other services, why not sell the Chinese the land in shibuyunji?
That is the only way sibuyunji will develop. I suppose a state of the art college will be developed before NRDC is demolished. When the college and the ranch were established in 1966, they were far from town centre on the outskirts of Lusaka. Now the govt lost the ranch because when chiluba started selling government houses, the lecturers of NRDC and Ministry of Agric officials shared the ranchland. New squatters joined in. Let govt come up with the new college through Avic.
And ba Portipher Tembo which Zambian has enough money to build a new college and still develop the old college? Let us not just talk. Mr Tembo was deputy mayor and failed the city of Lusaka. Otherwise we would have no cholera. What Tembo and other cadres want is to continue sharing NRDC land to extend development…
We Zambians have a habit of crying over everything. In Kamwala/Madras, Lotus school has a huge land that has been idle for years. The Indian community in the area approached GRZ and proposed to make the land a cricket club and GRZ agreed. Today everyone is crying that we sold it to Indians??? But then, the whole of the residents of Kamwala, Kabwat, Libala, Chilenje and other areas couldn’t team up to lease the land and make their own plan???
We Zambians have a habit of crying over everything. In Kamwala/Madras, Lotus school has a huge land that has been idle for years. The Indian community in the area approached GRZ and proposed to make the land a cricket club and GRZ agreed. Today everyone is crying that we sold it to Indians??? But then, the whole of the residents of Kamwala, Kabwata, Libala, Chilenje and other areas couldn’t team up to lease the land and make their own plan???
I think urging members of parliament to reconsider is a share waste of time, as long as something is from the ruling PF, it goes through in parliament and anything from the opposition is short down without thorough analysis and consideration. Reminds me of when UPND raised a motion to have retirees paid their monies……. Honestly speaking if one PF MP brought a pile of shi.t in parliament and raised a motion to say this is not shi.t but nshima, it would go through. This is the caliber of our reps. God help us.
Under PF one actually wonders what use is parliament ,it has just been reduced to a livelihood people just enter parliament to take care of themselves.Whatever the PF takes to parliament passes with 100% vote from their party,similarly whatever the opposition takes to parliament like the terminal benefits issue is automatically shot down by PF.We dont have leaders we have people in power.
The composition of parliament today actually proves people have lost confidence in the opposition. In 2011, we had the most democratic parliament composition in our history but Nevers Mumba changed all that when he took over and destroyed the MMD. At the end of it all people felt it was ok to try PF. Compound that with the tribal inclinations of upnd, all hope was lost in the opposition helping their causes.
This happens when a nation is led by characters with short-term aspirations and goals. The idea is to achieve stuff for the good of the nation regardless of whether you will be there or not when that achievement comes to fruition. Trouble with our leaders is they want to plant a tree now and sit under its shade within their term in office. That is why we are not planting perennials in our policies and development plans. So things tend to bend towards the cheap as well as the “benefit” especially of a pecuniary nature. Awe mwe!
Having received that invitation from Odinga, is HHyour boss back from the ceremony. Soon he will do the same!
By the time EL is done with Zambia there will be nothing left.
Citizens need to start taking action against this level of recklessness. Zambia is being sold for 30 pieces of silver, for a bowl of red stew…
I appeal to those of you who support PF to look beyond party lines and stand for what is right. This is not about PF or MMD or UPND. This about Zambia. Let’s think about the future of our country. Let’s think about the suffering of our people. Let us join together to fight injustice and wrong doing. Let’s call our leaders to account. Let’s not fight one another while politicians are fattening themselves on our carcasses. We only have on Zambia. Ask yourselves what kind of country we want to leave our children.
Way to go PF.Sell all dilapidated buildings and neglected land to make way for modern society! Why should we remain in colonial era buildings when we can do with modern ones in prime areas.Common, send them to the rurals areas those that cannot maintain their infrastructure and and keep pace with modern development on top of resisting change.
Besides in that rural you will have chance to build a more modern college that will cartor for more student enrolment,proper and modern boarding facilities,modern laboratories and a larger ranch since you want to keep cattle,goats and pigs!
When i heard about the sell i thought it was politics as usual but i am now worried selling a college? wait a minute when these guys say they are representative who do they represent? Zambians LT get a comment for us from the President we hear
better system is a form of trade. Focus more on the cost benefit
Why would a single minister enter into agreements to sale state property without parliament debating the issue? Is this the kind of power given to our ministers or it is a case of ignorance or arrogance on the part of the minister concerned?
Lazy Lungu has no shame …we know he is in AVIC’s pocket, I am sure they will build a small college there and use the rest of the land to build flats for the rich thieves and a shopping mall. These thieves have already sold NRDC’s other farm.
I remember when I was growing up and we used to bypass that college and admire at the vegetables and maizefields at the front.
Let MPs with Zambia at heart make sure that NRDC is not sold to the CHINESE or any one else, Let GRZ rehabilitate and add more structures to this institution and fence it off. Turn it into the agriculture university. Why is Dora always found on the wrong side of issues, initially it was LAP GREEN for Zamtel now its NRDC for AVIC.
That college used to feed itself now ot will be living on handouts from govt as all its farms are sold by this corrupt thief in State House…he will wake up one day and ask how assets were sold then create a silly fake Taskforce.
An article in today’s edition (30th Jan. 2018) of Daily Nation has revealed the Kenya Government’s concerns on the uncontrolled sprouting of universities that produce masses of “UN-EMPLOYABLE” university graduates who fail to perform in industries – and retained as furniture. The article also reveals that original Technical Colleges used to generate better trained Diploma holders capable of driving the development of industries.
The Ministry of Agriculture must rise to the challenge of improving educational facilities at its Agricultural Colleges in Monze, Mpika and NRDC to produce fine agriculturalists to develop agriculture in Zambia which is essentially a rural-based landscape. International inputs is welcome but to inject modern equipment to our Colleges. Challeng to MPs.
Who knows the model of EASTPARK MALL and UNZA? Was that land sold to the Eastpark Developers as well? IN my view, the government should find a way of being partners in developing that piece of land. They should not dispose it all into the hands of the Chinese. Let there be a Special Purpose Vehicle formed that should have the NRDC management and Ministry of High Education as majority shareholders to be part of the development. Say create a 25year lease arrangement where after that the property returns to the Ministry of Higher Education. That is prime land and should never be entirely in the hands of foreign investors. But we need that land developed due to its location and not having to see dilapidated structures on a main dual carriageway into and out of Lusaka. Remember we are…
Corrupt people do not think like that …they are greedy and think short term!!
In the 1970s to 1980s NRDC produced Diploma holders who were better trained and well-versed in agronomy and animals husbandry compared to Unza which operates agronomy and animal husbandry on a “back-yard” patch of land near the old building of School of Agriculture. Indeed NRDC was then self-sufficient in food production with excess milk sold to the public. It is a shame that good land at Liempe Farm was abandoned because Unza’s School of Agriculture preferred to operate in town and teach or Google from old textbooks. For lack of foresight, part of Liempe Farm has been subdivided into residential plots – an obvious case of Unza’s lack of vision. Hence Unza’s persistent reliance or dependence from Government coffers.
In Brazil last year the High Court stopped the sale of a parastatal power utility company(counterpart of zesco).People’s power and interests should always prevail over a few selfish individuals’ interests. A good leader should rule a country with the citizens, not ruling a country over the citizens
Those who have encroached on that land have committed a serious offence and they risk their structures being demolished,in that case i doubt if any of those squatters has tittle deed therefore let govt relocate them to shibuyungi period.
EDGAR LUNGU MUST HAVE APPROVED THE SALE OF NRDC.
The Country will protect EDGAR and family for life.
In turn, just protect the Zambian interests.
No need to enrich yourself Mr President and ADDRESS THE NATION OVER SUCH IMPORTANT DECISIONS.
You are only human, tubelo twa Dora can confuse you (especially me) in a one-on-one meeting to sign wrong MOU but a National debate will open your eyes and keep you on track.
ZAMBIANS FIRST (ask Trump).
We need to guard our seriously, we allowed a lot of Chinese nationals. This I see is very dangerous. There will be Chinese being born here in Zambia and they will be called Zambians.Our law hasn’t been revised. I can see in the next 20 years to come, Zambia will be ruled by a Chinese. Can the Parliament consider revising the law quickly before it’s too late. These Chinese they have heavily penetrated and will soon invade our beloved country.
Current NRDC location is prime land like in London, New York , Tokyo etc. 50 years after independence and we still do not know the value of our own land? Foreigners will own our prime land and relegate us to the cornfields. Remember that our own ignorant chiefs sold their people into slavery for gifts of shiny things. We keep complaining about being exploited by foreigners in the past. Now were are repeating the exploitation by doing the same with our land? The stupidity continues – Just like the chief of police appointing Chinese as police without thinking. And, again, he still has his job. All these people are insulting the party and the president but still keep their jobs – WHY people?
this should not be allowed at all , what kind of corruption is , we are really tired of this stupid foolish leadership
What Potipher Tembo has done is what we expect HH and Kambwili to do – to expose alleged wrong-doings in government with facts and not just stand at an antihill and make baseless allegations about corruption. I may not agree with Potipher but he demonstrated patriotism by exposing the alleged sale of NRDC prime land to a Chinese parastatal firm, AVIC. Of course the PS has since explained the matter at issue but that does not subtract anything from what Potipher has done. Please if you have reports of corruption or of abuse of authority of office, provide the facts.