President Hakainde Hichilema will soon be engaging traditional leaders across the country in a bid to open more land for development and ease pressure on overcrowded urban areas.
Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, Permanent Secretary, Patrick Mucheleka says the planned consultations aim to make more land available in rural areas for sustainable development and population redistribution as part of a broader strategy to address illegal land occupation and promote orderly settlement.
Mr Mucheleka told ZANIS in an interview that as the country’s population increases, it is not sustainable for a large number of people to remain concentrated in urban areas.
He observed that congested urban areas place a heavy strain on social services and infrastructure.
The Permanent Secretary added that the Ministry has established a Land Development Fund, which is accessible to local authorities that have entered into agreements with traditional leaders to make land available for development.
He said the partnerships are expected to facilitate structured land expansion and service delivery in both the urban and rural.
Mr Mucheleka said the initiative is part of a broader strategy to decongest urban areas and promote rural developmentt through the Constituency Development Fund (CDF).
“We are deliberately pushing more resources to rural areas through the CDF to make them more liveable and economically viable,” Mr Mucheleka added.
He also noted that land encroachment has been a persistent problem in Zambia.
Mr Mucheleka however, emphasised that the government is taking a tougher stance against illegal occupation of land.
“The message is clear, this current government will not tolerate individuals invading land that does not belong to them, especially land belonging to learning institutions,” he warned.