Government Should Arrest PF Cadres For Illegal Land Sale - UPND

The United Party for National Development (UPND) has called on the government to arrest and prosecute PF cadres suspected of being involved in the illegal allocation and sale of land in Lusaka and Kitwe.

The opposition party says that merely suspending the two local authorities without identifying and arresting the PF members involved in the illegal sales fails to tackle the root of the problem.

Lusaka and Kitwe City Councils have both been suspended and their powers of land sale withheld for three months. It follows a visit by the Ministry of Local Government and the Ministry of Land and Natural Resources to Matero Constituency, where it was found that Lusaka Council had allowed the extension of properties into road reserves. 

UPND Deputy Chairman for Local Government, Brian Ndumba, has now said the illegal plot allocations are the direct result of collusion between PF cadres and senior party officials, leaving local officials to bear the blame. 

He added that, once in office, the UPND would ensure that local government is fully decentralised, allowing councils to manage land issues such as title deeds totally independently. 

Mr Ndumba said this would make land management less susceptible to corruption and the annexation of illegal settlements.