3 UNZA UNIONS PLEAD WITH HH OVER LAND GRABBED BY CADRES

THREE University of Zambia (UNZA) trade unions have appealed to President Hakainde Hichilema over what they term as institutional injustice that the workers and unions were facing concerning land which has been grabbed by suspected cadres and the Zambia National Service (ZNS).

The unions which include the University of Zambia Lecturers and Researchers Union (UNZALARU), the University of Zambia Professional Staff Union (UNZAPROSU) and the University of Zambia and Allied Workers Union (UNZAAWU), have pleaded with President Hichilema to intervene.

The unions also appealed to President Hichilema to ensure that the institution was given back the milling plant which was run under UNZA but was taken over by ZNS.

They said the institution was losing land in Makeni Bonaventure which was on title but had been encroached by cadres from the time of the PF and had continued even after UPND came into power.

They said as part of the debt swap initiative between UNZA and its employees who were owed gratuities and pensions, UNZA and the three trade unions negotiated a debt swap that involved the employer allocating plots to deserving members and deducting the value of the plots from what eligible members were owed by UNZA.

These plots are situated at the UNZA Horticultural Nursery in the Makeni Bonaventure area. The land has been legally owned on title by UNZA since the 1970s, the unions said.

They said cadres from both the PF and now the UPND have invaded the land and are redistributing the plots which UNZA rightfully offered to its employees and retirees alike.

They said despite the matter being in court and an injunction in place to restrain the cadres from illegally redistributing or developing the land, they have continued to do so with impunity.

UNZAPROSU President Michael Kaluba said they had reported the matter to the police but there was little success.

He said that they were made to believe that these cadres may not be on their own but were being sponsored by the leadership of the ruling party.

“We wish to refer to an incident in which a high ranking UPND leader was filmed hurling insults at the UNZA community for simply claiming what was theirs. We take note that the party suspended the cadre. However, the source of the problem remains unresolved as more cadres keep invading the area,” he said.

And on the ZNS issue the union said that on the issue of the milling plants, UNZA was given milling plants which were taken over by ZNS through the Ministry of Defence without advancing credible and convincing reasons.

The unions said they would provide reasons why they felt the takeover of the milling plant, meant for teaching purposes and income generation was not fair and a form of institutional injustice and serious intimidation.