By NOEL IYOMBWA
GOVERNMENT should reduce issuing land titles for huge chunks of land because most remains unutilised when other citizens are in need of land for productive use, Zambia Land Alliance director Patrick Musole has said.
Mr Musole said that some huge pieces of land being owned by some individuals remained unused at the expense of locals that were in need.
He said Government could not repossess such land because it was on title and legally obtained.
Mr Musole said in an interview that apart from avoiding issuing land titles anyhow, the government should also reduce the period for leasing out land.
“We have seen situations where land is leased for 99 years whereby they even subdivide the land and the government cannot do anything because it is legal.
“So the issue is for the government to come up with laws that would see to it that land is not allocated anyhow,” he said.
Mr Musole explained that the Land Alliance had been advocating for limiting the issuance of land to foreign nationals.
He said Government should come up with strong land policies that would protect land in the country.
Mr Musole observed that the rate at which foreigners are acquiring land was alarming.
He said that in South Africa some huge pieces of land were owned sometimes without being used.
Mr Musole said that if left unchecked, Zambia would end up like South Africa because huge chunks of land were being allocated to foreign nationals without limitation.
“The vision of Zambia Land Alliance is “a Zambia in which the rural, peri-urban and urban poor and vulnerable have secured access, ownership and control over land for sustainable development,” said Mr Musole.
The Zambia Land Alliance is a platform for collective action committed to promoting equitable access, control and secured ownership of land by the rural, peri-urban and urban poor and marginalised, through lobbying and advocacy, networking, research and community partnership.
