Mon, 15 Jan 2018 12:02:03 +0000
By BENNIE MUNDANDO
KALUNDU residents have sued Minister of Local Government Vincent Mwale and the Zambia Environmental Management Agency (ZEMA) as first and second respondents respectively in the on-going row over the construction of a mall by the Chinese in the area.
The residents have filed an affidavit in support of the originating notice of motion for judicial review in the High Court over the construction of a mall in the area by Shumeite Holdings Limited, which they have maintained is illegal.
After six months of bickering between the residents and the developer over the project, Mr. Mwale on November 13, 2017 wrote a letter to Shumeite to approve and authorise the company to resume the construction basing his decision on the Urban and Regional Planning Act No 3 of 2015.
However, the authorisation came after Kalundu residents’ had already applied for Judicial Review before the Court of Appeal which was renewed on October 16, 2017 and was not opposed by the Lusaka City Council, which, by law, meant that Shumeite Investment should have ceased construction on the basis that there was an enforcement notice issued by the council on June 6, 2017.
On November 9, 2017 ZEMA gave Shumeite a go-ahead once they met a number of conditions such as obtaining consent from immediate neighbours with respect to intrusion on privacy activities prior to start of project activities.
The company was also directed to ensure that the distance and or space between the external wall of the building and the boundary line of the adjacent plot and or plots was not less than 3.048 metres as provided for in the building regulations.
Further, the company was directed to submit prior to start of project activities, a redesigned traffic management that was approved by the relevant authorising agencies namely Road Development Agency (RDA), Road Transport and Safety Agency (RTSA) and LCC but most of the conditions were not met as construction continued unabated.
On January 4, 2017, Kalundu residents wrote a letter to the council Town Clerk through their lawyers in which they gave the council a 24-hour ultimatum to halt construction works or face legal action, but the ultimatum was also ignored, leading to the current court action. According to an affidavit filed in the High Court, the residents have maintained that the project was illegal and that all the authorities were aware of what was going on but had not done anything to stop the illegality.
“The applicants noted that although the second respondent (ZEMA) had issued the decision letter improperly, the said letter still had conditions to be complied with. However, the developer has expressly refused to comply with the conditions, advising the applicants through one of its representatives that it has the express authority of the Minister of Local Government to proceed with construction and need not comply with the conditions imposed by the 2nd respondent.
“That the applicants have drawn the 2nd Respondent and the council to the fact that the developer has in any event refused to comply with the second respondent’s conditions. The 2nd respondent has sent inspectors to the site and confirmed that construction, in violation of its conditions, has proceeded with the support of the Minister of Local Government and the said respondent has taken no steps to put in place corrective measures,” reads the affidavit in part.
