Kitwe flood victims relocate

FLOOD victims who are currently accommodated at Buchi hotel in Kitwe will finally be relocated to Kafue Park this Friday.

Chairman for the flood victims at the transit centre, Simon Kabange, confirmed to the Daily Nation that some victims had started moving to the place and that by Friday, all of them would have left the place.

Mr Kabange thanked Government for the gesture despite the procedure taking too long to be concluded.

Many flood victims had already abandoned the transit centre for safer places.

Some of them did not benefit from the land that was given to them by the government through the Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit (DMMU).

Those who left said they did not see any reason why they should continue staying at the place when they would not benefit anything like the others did.

They said that they preferred going back to their old homes unlike spending nights in the cold for nothing.

About 500 people were affected by floods in Kitwe in the previous rainy season and were temporarily accommodated at Buchi Hotel as well as Hellen Kaunda School grounds as they waited for their new houses to be constructed.

And over 500 offer letters were given to both flood victims and the Luyando house demolition victims who were landlords, but tenants also wanted to be given land just like their landlords.

The DMMU maintained that only landlords of the houses that were affected were entitled to receive land in New Kitwe across the Kafue River.