Mon, 16 Oct 2017 10:16:19 +0000
Minister to consult Attorney General…
By Linda Soko Tembo, Aaron Chiyanzo & Oscar Malipenga
THE demolition exercise scheduled for today has been halted to allow the minister consult with Attorney General over the illegal structures in Lusaka’s Emmasdale area.
Lands Minister, Jean Kapata said Lusaka City Council erred by allowing people to build on illegally created plots.
Ms Kapata also said for those that are in the road reserves, “we will wait for Road Development Agency (RDA) to report to us because most of them are in the road reserve.”
“For those in Emmasdale we have been advised to follow the law because our people erred and the council erred, they created plots and allowed those people to build,” the minister said.
“I will personally write to the Attorney General to inform them of the development so that he can take it up with those clients and we make sure that we demolish those structures,” she said.
She insisted that government would not allow illegality to continue but they would do it the right way.
“We can’t allow this, when there is road expansion then you have nowhere to expand the road because you find there is a wall fence,” she said.
She warned that even residents of Kabangwe area risked having their structures demolished if they fell within the six lane meter for the dual carriage way expansion.
A Nation team that visited Emmasdale found some public roads have gates such as Lukoma Close and Kawimbe Close. Access to the road is restricted and in one instance the gate was locked.
And both Kanyama and Matero members of Parliament have said the demolition exercise was long overdue because illegal structures are blocking development projects.
Matero MP, Lloyd Kaziya, who is also minister Water Development, Sanitation and Environmental Protection says he has already identified illegal structures that will be demolished.
In an interview with Daily Nation, Mr Kaziya said he owes no one an apology and was not scared of anybody whose structure was earmarked for demolition.
Kanyama MP, Elizabeth Phiri says the constituency has been chocked with illegal structures on road reserves, hence the demolishing exercise by LCC should start from there.
