Mpezeni nods move to open chiefdom boundary mapping

PARAMOUNT Chief Mpezeni of the Ngoni has welcomed the move by the government to open conversation around the chiefdom boundaries map of 1958.

The Paramount Chief says the launch and revision of the chiefdom boundary maps shall effectively help in resolving outstanding land disputes among traditional leaders.

He says that land disputes normally affected the development of the country which was meant to benefit the people.

He noted that development had tended to lag behind because of land disputes as leaders spent time squabbling over boundaries.

Paramount Chief Mpezeni was speaking when Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development Permanent Secretary for Technical Services Nicholas Phiri paid a courtesy call on him at his palace.

The Paramount Chief was optimistic that the coming of the 1958 chiefdom boundary maps would work towards ending land disputes among chiefs.

Paramount Chief Mpezeni said 1958 chiefdom boundary maps are very old maps adding that most chiefs were not even born at that time.

He told Mr Phiri to consider distributing the same maps to other traditional leaders in the province.

The traditional leader said he would go through the boundary maps with his chiefs, adding that once the maps were effectively looked at, he would give his position in February next year.

He stated that the 1958 chiefdom boundary maps were the official ones adding that if Mr Phiri brought maps made in the 1970s there would have been a lot of question marks.

And Mr Phiri informed Paramount Chief Mpezeni that the 1958 chiefdom boundary maps showed the demarcations of chiefdoms.

He said Government had printed more than 700 chiefdom boundary maps to distribute to all traditional leaders.

Mr Phiri said the government targeted to revise the chiefdom boundary maps because in some cases there were chiefdoms that existed but did not show on the maps made in 1958.