Fri, 21 Jul 2017 10:50:35 +0000
By ANNIE ZULU
LANDS and Natural Resources Minister Jean Kapata has banned the Lusaka City Council (LCC) from selling land, saying there is no more land left in the city.
Ms Kapata said there was no land to plan in Lusaka, because land had finished.
She has since directed the LCC to desist from selling out land, warning that she would take stern action against any council that failed to adhere to the directive.
The minister was speaking in an interview with the Daily Nation yesterday.
“We must accept the fact that Lusaka has no land, so I don’t want to hear that councils are creating room for plots. I will not take lightly any council which will be found wanting in the selling of land in the city, especially without authority from the Ministry of Lands,
“We have a lot of land in other provinces, for those who want land, they should go to those provinces. There is a lot of land out there, but for Lusaka, there is no land,” she said
Ms Kapata said councils were fond of giving land where people were already living, adding that her ministry was not going to displace people that have been living on the land for a long time so that it could be given to rich people.
“The land belongs to all Zambians and all Zambians must benefit,” she said.
And Ms Kapata has reiterated that Government was committed to empowering women through land as most of them still did not access and control over land.
Ms. Kapata said Government was aware that majority of women, especially in rural areas, did not have access to land.
She however noted this might soon be a thing of the past as the government would give priority of land acquisition to women.
She said Government was committed to its promise of ensuring that 40 percent of women had access to land.
“Access to land still remains a challenge to women, but that will no longer continue because the PF government under the leadership of President Lungu is determined to empower women through land and ensure that women have access to land just like the men.
“In Zambia, only about 20 percent women have secure access to land, but as Government, we will make sure that at least 40percent of land in Zambia goes to the women,” Ms. Kapata said.
