KALUNDU RESIDENTS NOW TURN HEAT ON COUNCIL CHIEF

KALUNDU

residents have now turned their anger on Lusaka City Council (LCC) Town Clerk Alex Mwansa for defying a court order to halt the Chinese Mall and have vowed to continue with the fight by citing him for contempt of court.

After a protracted dispute between Shumeite Investment and the residents, the Lusaka High Court on April 24, 2019 ruled that it was wrong for the government to accept the request by Shumeite to resume construction on the project which was halted by the LCC through an enforcement notice.

The High Court halted the project based on the enforcement notice issued by the LCC on June 6, 2017 which ordered the Chinese Company to demolish the structure and restore the land to its original state before construction works began.

But while the main matter was concluded in court and the order still in effect, Mr. Mwansa on July 17, 2019, told Shumeite to resume construction, much to the chagrin of the community which

Please be notified that the enforcement notice on 6th June 2017 has been lifted. The Plans will be forwarded to the Planning and Information Management System Committee with the recommendation to Approve and Regularise.

demanded for any court document or approval letter from the local authority.

However, the pursuit for the letter from the council hit a snag for two weeks while the Chinese continued construction works until last week when a copy of the approval letter was found, which was signed by Mr. Mwansa. — Mr Mwansa.

“Please be notified that the enforcement notice on 6th June 2017 has been lifted. The Plans will be forwarded to the Planning and Information Management System Committee with the recommendation to Approve and Regularise. “You may therefore recommence construction or the proposed development subject to the following conditions: you will be required to contact our chief building inspector to assign an officer to be inspecting the construction works,” reads the letter in part.

Other conditions that were to be met were that the Chinese were supposed to suppress dust during construction and control noisy work was prohibited on Sundays and public holidays.

He also instructed the Chinese to ensure that a copy of building plans was on site and that the construction must follow the plans submitted to the authority.

But the community now says they will proceed with legal action against the LCC and Mr. Mwansa himself.

“As far as we are concerned, a court case can only be adjudicated by the court and not any other institution and the court order which halted the Shumeite project is still in effect. We are suing the LCC and Mr. Mwansa himself,” Kalundu Welfare Society secretary Maggie Mulenga Nakazwe said.

The Chinese developer has continued building.