DEMOLITION SCANDAL DEEPENS
...As ZRL vows to pull down properties despite investigations by LCC
THE demolition exercise of over 600 properties illegally erected on Zambia Railways Limited (ZRL) land will go on as planned, says managing director Christopher Musonda. This is despite local authorities instituting investigations to ascertain encroachment claims. The Lusaka City Council (LCC) announced that its legal department was already investigating the list of over 350 plots earmarked for demolition in Lusaka alone to ascertain whether they were indeed on ZRL land. Mr Musonda however said that ZRL remained vigilant and ready to protect railway infrastructure adding that the institution would not entertain any delays. He said that the exercise was key to the development of a vibrant, safe and secure railway industry. Mr Musonda explained that demolition had become vital at a time when the company was promoting and implementing the Statutory Instrument (SI) No. 7 of 2018 which legally compelled to move heavy and bulk cargo to at least 30 percent from road to rail.a “Zambia Railways Limited will carry out the demolition exercise as published in a public notice which appeared in the Daily Nation newspaper dated 13th July, 2018. ZRL remains vigilant and ready to protect railway infrastructure as this is key to the development of a vibrant, safe and secure Railway industry,” he explained. Mr Mwansa expressed shock at the high number of illegal plots ZRL was claiming were offered by the council but said that the legal department would get to the root of the matter. He said that if there were indeed cases where the council made a decision without consulting ZRL, then it was not a normal occurrence. “Under normal circumstances, we are supposed to consult each other. That is why we are studying the list to see what might have happened. Our legal team is dealing with the matter case by case,” said Mr Mwansa. Mr Mwansa said the local authority would soon give its position on the plots purported to have been illegally given out. Meanwhile, Ministry of Local Government Permanent Secretary Amos Malupenga said in an interview that individual councils should explain to the public how they reportedly gave out land which did not fall under their jurisdiction.