STOP SHADY LAND DEALS

THE new dawn administration must quickly get to grips with the persistent cases of its political cadres being involved in illegal land dealings.

While it is appreciated that President Hakainde Hichilema’s administration has spoken out against shady land deals, it is important that action be seen to be taken against the culprits.

Although some of the culprits might just be pretending to members of the ruling United Party for National Development (UPND) to hide their criminal actions, this is the more reason they should be exposed.

This is because failure to do so will tarnish the image of the ruling party, something it surely does not want to be associated with.

Just this week, concern has been raised over the illegalities that are allegedly being committed in Kitwe and Lusaka which should be nipped in the bud.

In Lusaka, 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.

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

Their appeal is over the long standing controversy over the land in Makeni Bonaventure which though on title has been encroached by political cadres.

The irony of the matter is that this problem started from the time of the Patriotic Front and had continued even after the UPND came into power.

Could it be the same cadres who have merely changed their party regalia from green to red, in the mistaken belief that it pays to belong to the ruling party.

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.

In Kitwe, the illegal parceling and selling of land by suspected political party cadres has reportedly hit new levels with the cadres designing new strategies in which land is being allocated to prospective buyers in the middle of the night in Kitwe’s Wusakile Township, it has been revealed.

Political party cadres in an attempt to beat the law are now using the shadows of the night to conduct their illegal land parceling and there has been a scramble for the night land and the cadres are cashing in.

This is the same land in which the Kitwe City Council has repeatedly stated that it is not for sale as it is earmarked for communal project.

What is even worse is that some Luangwa residents have implicated a civic leader of being the instigator of the illegal land allocation

One of the residents, Ms Margret Chibesa said illegal allocation of land has reached alarming levels where party cadres were allocating land in the night at Luangwa B market.

We do not think the authorities could fail to deal with those breaking the law. They cannot claim to be members of a party whose ideals they do not subscribe to – they are mere land scammers reaping where they did not sow.