Chinese mall dispute rages

Tue, 11 Jul 2017 09:50:41 +0000

By KALOBWE BWALYA

CONTROVERSY over plans by a Chinese company to build a shopping mall in Kalundu without the full council authorization has surged with residents backing plans by government to summon the council to justify their action in the presence of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).

The residents said it was important that Lusaka Province Minister Japhen Mwakalombe has stepped in the matter so that council authorities could produce minutes in line with Local Government procedures on the construction of shopping malls.

This in a matter where a Chinese firm is constructing a five-floor building on a plot measuring less than I acre and the immediate problem was of liquid waste disposal, sanitary systems in an area designated as a residential area have not been tabled for approval by a full council meeting..

Mwiinga Sichula is the spokesperson of the residents. “We have made our concerns known with the mayor Mr Wilson Kalumba and the Lusaka City Council. But before they are even addressed, construction has been  accelerated. This is in contravention of the Urban and Regional Planning Act of 2015,” said Ms Sichula in an interview in Lusaka yesterday. She added: “We are not disgruntled residents who can refuse development but our concern is that environmental and safety issues have not been put into consideration.”  Ms Sichula said the residents were only concerned about the criteria that was used to approve the construction of the shopping mall in a residential area.

She complained that approval of the mall would affect the reticulation system, cause massive noise pollution and literary block traffic flow. Ms Sichula said a five-storey building structure in a residential area was prone to illegal invasion of privacy.   The residents called on the Zambia Environmental Management Agency (ZEMA) to quickly help using their expert legal position.  “We welcome genuine foreign direct investment in our country but our primary concern as residents of Kalundu is the type of development which is being erected in the area,” Ms Sichula explained.

On Monday, Mr Mwakalobwe said the council would have to present the master plan of the city of Lusaka to show whether the controversial construction is within the zone designated for a mall.

The suspension had been prompted by the developer’s failure to provide approved documentation from the NCC and also, the minutes from the full council meeting as provided for the Local Government Act.