MINISTER of Local Government and Housing Brian Chituwo says it is unacceptable for Lusaka councillors to allocate themselves over 80 plots at the Lilayi Housing Development project.

Dr Chituwo has since directed the Lusaka town clerk to avail his office with minutes of the meeting where this decision was made. Lusaka City Council is dominated by Patriotic Front (PF) councillors.
“I was actually shocked when I heard about this matter. It is totally unacceptable for the councillors to allocate themselves those plots,” he said.
Dr Chituwo has also directed the town clerk to give him the justification for such allocations.
“That is selfish behaviour for civic leaders. For now, I take it as a rumour until we confirm this,” he said.
He said once it is confirmed that these plots have been given out, his ministry will ensure that it corrects the matter.
Dr Chituwo said the procedure that needs to be followed is for councils to advertise for land and applicants are supposed to attend interviews before selections are done.
“What criteria did they use to allocate themselves this land? Even if they say they applied, it is not possible that they were more successful than other members of the public,” he said.
[pullquote]“What criteria did they use to allocate themselves this land? Even if they say they applied, it is not possible that they were more successful than other members of the public,” he said.[/pullquote]
Dr Chituwo said everybody, including civic leaders, should be treated equally.
And the Zambia Land Alliance (ZLA) has called on the Ministries of Lands and Local Government and Housing to investigate the reports of councillors allocating themselves plots.
ZLA executive director Henry Machina said it is unacceptable for the councillors to give themselves over 80 plots and leave a few for members of the public.
He said the Ministry of Lands should intervene in this matter and ensure that the plots are advertised so that members of the public can have access to the land in question.
“This is a very unfortunate situation which should not be allowed to continue as this will perpetuate the marginalisation of the poor and other citizens who are not privy to the activities of authorities charged with the responsibility of land allocation,” he said.
He said it is important to have a well articulated land policy to act as a guide to ensure efficient and transparent land administration.
Mr Machina said lack of effective mechanisms to ensure transparency and accountability in most local authorities can cause problems.
He said the lack of adequate supervisory and monitoring support to agents of the Ministry of Lands—local authorities and traditional leaders, compounds the situation.
Mr Machina has called on the Ministry of Lands to put in place a comprehensive land policy to guide land administration in Zambia.
He urged the Commissioner of Lands to reverse the unjust land allocations.
[Zambia Daily mail]