ILLEGAL STRUCTURES MUST GO, SAYS KWACHA MP

By ROGERS KALERO PATRIOTIC Front (PF) Kwacha Member of Parliament Joe Malanji has said illegal structures which have been constructed within the premises of Riverside Clinic should be demolished to pave way for the expansion of the clinic into a mini-hospital.

And Mr Malanji has said councillors and other disgruntled people who were trying to undermine his efforts will not distract him because he was a focused person who will not waste time on fighting greedy, selfish and petty individuals.

Speaking yesterday during a PF media interactive forum at Continental Lodge in Riverside, Mr Malanji said illegal structures build on the premises of Riverside Clinic should be demolished to pave way for the expansion of the clinic into a mini-hospital.

Mr Malanji said more than K9 million would be spent on the expansion of Riverside Clinic into a mini-hospital and so it was important that illegal structures built on the premises of the clinic were demolished.

"As MP, I have a mandate to deliver development to the people of Kwacha who voted for me. So being an MP, I should not support the confusion of illegal allocation of land, but I should spearhead development in the constituency.

"So illegal structures which have been constructed within the premises of Riverside Clinic should be demolished to pave way for the expansion of the clinic into a mini-hospital. The owners of those structures on the premises of Riverside Clinic should go and demand for money from whoever gave them those plots," Mr Malanji said.

Mr Malanji said, while illegal allocation of land would only benefit one individual, the expansion of the clinic into a mini-hospital would serve the interests of many people who were always travelling to Kitwe Central Hospital for various health care services.

Mr Malanji said he was ready to fight the corruption in the illegal allocation of land because some people had gotten used to illegal allocation of land and they were doing it with impunity.

"We can't have people suffering when a few individuals are enjoying in luxury from the money of illegal sale of land. No. We have to bring sanity in the way things are done,' he said.

Mr Malanji also said he had lined up a number of developmental projects in the constituency which included road and bridge rehabilitation, construction of a clinic in Ipusukilo compound, construction of schools and recreational facilities.

"I believe in team work. Team work delivers, but if some people don't want to work with me, there is nothing i can do, but they should know that am the MP until 2021 and so fighting me for personal or political reasons will not help them," he said.