The demolition of private homes that are said to have been erected on illegal plots is expected to expand in many parts of the country.
According to government sources, a number of local authorities will demolish people’s houses that have been built on ‘illegal’ plots. In a number of cases, the state’s action is aimed at public safety or enforcement of property rights of the landowner, however, the recent demolitions in Zambia took place without a clear reason (such as imminent construction of any other structure).
The tension over the demolition programme has become a hot-button political issue. The demolition exercise will see scores of people being left without houses and observers have asked the government to find an amicable way of resolving the issue of illegal land allocation and housing for displaced persons, instead of demolishing people’s homes that were being erected at an expensive cost.
Last week, over 400 houses were demolished by the Kitwe City Council (KCC) on allegations that the structures were built on plots that were acquired dubiously. Over 1, 000 people were left homeless after the demolition exercise and the government is struggling to distance itself from the destruction programme alleging that it was conducted by the KCC, whose council is made up of Patriotic Front (PF) councilors.
According to the sources, more councils are expected to issues circulars to the public to instruct people to stop building on dubiously acquired land.
In Choma, the local authority has already written over 500 letters to individuals in the locality where it has sternly warned the people that their houses will be razed down.
There is growing anxiety among the local people in Choma who are building private houses to cushion themselves from the escalating house rentals and the skyrocketing cost of living as a result of the impending demolition exercise.
“The council has issued 500 warning letters so far to people building structures on illegally acquired land. There is a demolishing exercise that is looming here,” said council assistant public relations manager Robert Zawe.
Zawe said the local authority had been alerting people to stop building on illegal land since March 2013, when the council was prompted to start writing warning letters.
Some of the locations in Choma where there will be demolitions include Chandamali, Zambia Twosnhip and Kamuza areas where it is alleged that some people were demarcating illegally.
He said the council in Choma would be forced to demolish the houses because it was finding it hard to deliver notices to the affected property owners who were largely absent from their plots.
Zawe said the local authority would not tolerate illegality in the municipality because the council would not allow people to build on unserviced land.
He said people would learn hard lessons from the impending demolition exercise not to build houses on illegal land.
After the Kitwe demolition exercise, the government dispatched humanitarian assistance to the affected families.
Opposition UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema and his MMD counterpart Nevers Mumba visited the affected members where they donated various items to cushion the people’s suffering.
Dr Mumba said it was irresponsible for the council to raze down people’s houses, adding that the government must find a reasonable solution to the impasse.
Hichilema said the PF government was pretending to be a responsible government, but the demolition of people’s houses had exposed the regime that had not needs of the poor at heart.
Political activist Dante Saunders said the demolition of houses was Michael Sata’s campaign promise in which he alerted the masses that he would raze down shanty townships and erect modern suburbs.
The post Demolition of ‘Illegal’ Homes to Expand Nationwide appeared first on Zambia Reports.
