Fri, 04 Aug 2017 09:23:23 +0000
By Bennie Mundando
NOT even the Zambia Army has managed to remove an investor who has adamantly put up structures on a gazetted road blocking entrance to the Defence School of Health Sciences Medical College on Mimosa Road in Emmasdale.
The investor, Mehmud Suleman Mohamed, is said to have warned property owners in the area, including the army, to stop pushing for the demolition of his structure or risk “jumping in front of barrel of the gun” as he had superior backing in the Ministry of Defence.
According to numerous documents obtained by the Daily Nation, the Lusaka City Council (LCC) and the Ministry of Lands, the LCC had ordered for the demolition of the structure in its initial stage but in a dramatic turn of events, express permission was granted to Mr. Mohamed to go ahead with the construction.
In a letter dated May 19, 2016 and addressed to the Town Clerk, then Permanent Secretary Sturdy Mwale directed the council to cancel the issuance of certificate of title to Mr. Mohamed.
“You are hereby directed to cancel the issuance of certificate of title because it is not right that a duly gazetted road should be converted into a private plot or stand and inconvenience other property owners along Mimosa Road,
This is what Government has consistently objected to with its anti-corruption drive. Mimosa Road is a duly gazetted road which provides access to Defence Force Medical School and the service lane to the rear of the commercial plots along Great North Road.
“The new diagram for stand No.S/LUSAK/1206740 indicates that a road reserve along the boundary ED which is so small that it does not offer reasonable access to the service lane which should have the capacity to allow vehicles to enter from one lane and exit from the other end of the lane.
“In view of the above objections, I request you to cancel the creation of this stand No. S/LUSAK/1206740 and bring back sanity to city planning,” Mr. Mwale said.
On June 19, 2016, Town Clerk, Alex Mwansa, wrote to Mr. Mohamed informing him that his construction permission was revoked and that investigations on how he was awarded the plot had been instituted.
“I regret to advise that the said planning permission has been revoked. This is due to the fact that LCC has received numerous representations, the latest being the Defence School of Medical Science on the existence of the plot in question which is sitting on a gazetted road. Meanwhile, investigations are still ongoing on how the said stand was created,” Mr. Mwansa said.
However, within four months after instructing the council to cancel the certificate of title to the same plot, Mr. Mwale U-turned.
In a letter dated September 23, 2016 and addressed to the permanent secretary at the Ministry of Defence, Mr. Mwale claimed that investigations into the illegal creation and allocation of the plot to Mr. Mohamed showed that he “followed laid down procedure” and hence needed to continue with construction.
“After seeing all documentation and done all relevant investigation through the council and the Ministry of Lands, my conclusion is that all necessary procedures were followed correctly and Mr. Mohamed is the rightful owner of the said property (gazetted road) No. S/LUSAK/1206740 and should continue building,” Mr. Mwale said.
Currently, the investor has blocked the entire Mimosa Road, leaving only a small road reserve where heavy duty vehicles cannot pass, leaving businesses housed behind his structure stranded.
The development has also forced the Army to ask for the permission from the Emmasdale Baptist Church to create a car back just outside its fence to mitigate the parking space challenge brought about by the same structure while the opening of the school is still in limbo owing to the same.
Efforts to get a comment from Mr. Mwale proved futile as someone purporting not to be him answered his mobile phone and directed this reporter to call another line which does not exist.
