Fight on, Kalundu residents told

Sat, 29 Jul 2017 13:15:40 +0000

By BENNIE MUNDANDO

KALUNDU residents should be bold and fight relentlessly against the illegal construction of a controversial shopping mall by Shumeite Investments Limited.

This is because you are pushing for a just cause which needs unwavering determination to achieve, the Zambia Direct Democracy Movement (ZDDM) has said..

ZDDM president Edwin Sakala yesterday offered to join Kalundu residents who are up in arms with a Chinese firm that is putting up a shopping mall in a residential area.  He has urged the residents to soldier on and not to be intimidated by some officials at the Lusaka City Council.

Mr. Sakala told the Daily Nation yesterday that he had decided to join Kalundu residents in the fight for justice as authorities that should have been in the forefront to uphold their welfare had opted to side with the Chinese under very suspicious circumstances.

He said the Kalundu case needed an in-depth investigation by relevant authorities as it could turn out to be a clear case of corruption and collusion

Mr Sakala said he would request for a meeting with the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) to protect the interest of the residents.

He said there was no other remedial measure that should be taken over the matter other than demolishing the structure as earlier commanded by the council planning department.

He has challenged Lusaka Province Minister Japhen Mwakalombe not to come up with any other decision that will only safeguard the interest of the Chinese and not that of the locals.

“I stand by the people in Kalundu for their resilience and I thank them for their alertness. This is what good citizenry
entails and for this, I am joining the fight because this is a good cause. The illegal construction of a mall in Kalundu is a case of sheer abuse of authority and the council should not play games over this matter.

“All the attempts to conceal this illegality by someone in the council will be thwarted. I personally do not expect any other decision other than demolishing that structure because its intention is ill-conceived.

“It could also be true that someone engaged in illegal activities to allow the construction of the mall and that is why I am going to engage the ACC so that they can move in,” Mr. Sakala said. Among illegalities identified in the construction of the mall are that lack of proper documentation from the council while the project is also not registered with the National Council for Construction (NCC).

The contractor working on the project is also not registered with NCC in line with regulation No. 4 of S. I. no. 39 of 2015 which provides that a person awarded with a construction contract needs to apply for the registration of the project within 14 days from the date of the contract.