Thu, 20 Jul 2017 08:22:34 +0000
By VIOLET TEMBO
CHINGOLA Mayor Titus Tembo has expressed concern that the municipality was spending huge resources in controlling land illegalities.
Mr Tembo said that land illegality in the district was a source of concern to the council as it was spending a lot of time and resources on fuel and human resource to control it.
He told the Daily Nation in an interview that the resources being used could be channelled to development projects.
“I cannot quantify how much we are spending to carry out inspection exercises across the district to deter land illegality.
“Because the exercise involves policing, patrolling and vehicles require fuel. I want to implore all absentee landlords to secure their land to prevent encroachments,” he said.
Mr Tembo said that it was the only way that developers offered land in the district can prevent any encroachment.
He said in an event that their land was encroached upon, they should take measures to stop it before illegal structures were built. He said the council had adopted a system of issuing land in a transparent manner and include stands creation and numbering, advertising and interviews conducted.
He disclosed that 30percent of the stands advertised, priority was awarded to women with 70 percent given to those that demonstrated capacity to build especially for high cost plots.
He indicated that a number of people in the district have lost huge sums of money in illegal land transactions.
