Lands Deputy Minister Michael Mabenga has urged Chiefs in Western Province to reserve land in their respective chiefdoms.
Mr. Mabenga said Government intends to work with Chiefs in the country so that they teach their subjects to refrain from selling their land any how.
The Minister said this when he paid a courtesy call on the Litunga Lamboela Makwibi Mwanawina and Chief Mebeelo Lukama of Senanga District yesterday.
He pointed out that land is very important hence the need to protect and maintain it properly as the population of the country is increasing rapidly.
And her Royal Highness Litunga Makwibi Mwanawina observed that issues of land are very important and if not handled properly can cause fighting among people in their respective areas.
She urged Government through the Minister to educate the nation on the importance of land and preserve it.
Her Royal Highness added that the council should be in consultation with the Barotse Royal Establishment (BRE) if it intends to sell land adding of late she has been receiving complaints that some of the traditional land has been sold by the council.
Meanwhile, Chief Mebeelo Lukama commended the Minister for embarking on sensitizing chiefs on land and the importance of working together with the Government of the day.
The Minister was accompanied by Western Province Lands Officer Anthony Shimwambwa and Ministry of Lands Headquarters Administrative Officer.
[ZANIS]
Can someone please ask Michael Mabenga, as MMD Chairman, if he has any control over his party cadres who illegally allocate land? Should it take the Courts, as was the case in the Lusaka West illegal land grab, to bring sanity to land allocation? Why have laws which are not respected by the ruling party which allows its cadres to allocate land already on title and belongs to other people? That’s why I miss Mwanawasa – at least he was in charge of his party and could control the cadres, who never allocated land during his tenure.
Land allocation is one of the big election issues in Lusaka and the electorate want to see sanity in this area. If not, the MMD will lose all the parliamentary seats and the presidential vote in Lusaka again in 2011.
A people governed to respect the law, adopt it from the Governors. However, this is a vital and criticat recipe missing in the MMD Government. Ministers are in the forefront of delegating illegal land allocation to whomsoever they wish. These naked land allocations have been going on from the Chiluba time to the Bwezani era. Sensitizing a hungry people on the importance of land preservation is a non starter. Fight hunger, corruption, ukutumpa, inefficiency, incompetence and all these cheap land dealings mumishi will end.
meant “Critical”
#s 1 and 2, I agree with you. All we get from the MMD is lip service. It’s OK for their thugs to take away land at will. And since when has this guy been a minister, anywa? I wasn’t aware. I thought he was in jail over Elections laws. It’s the Judiciary that said, so, not me.
why shud he start with western province..he’s a tribalist ka!!!shud ve gone to eastern province 1st…why shud western province be da only place to reserve land?
He is strategising how to deal with Namakando issue where MMD is no longer holding. This wizard was supposed to use party funds not government resources in the guise of land issues.“““““““`
If i was a chief, Mabenga’s counsel is baseless. The man is a total failure and not the right pipo to counsel our chiefs.
For starters how can a Chairman of MMD be a Deputy Minister??????? One wonders how he chairs the MMD NEC????? Disaster