Sat, 09 Sep 2017 10:33:28 +0000
By Violet Tembo
A CHINESE firm, China Henan Guoji Development Construction Limited has sued over 200 residents for illegally encroaching on 160 hectares of land reserved for the construction of 2, 000 housing units in Ndola.
And Ndola High Court has since granted an interim injunction restraining the over 200 residents, their servants, agents or whosoever from encroaching or carrying out any activities on the said property pending the final determination of the matter before court.
Meanwhile, Ndola City Council who are joint venture partners in the project expressed ignorance on the action taken by the Chinese company.
Henan Gauji filed a legal suit in the Ndola High Court against alleged illegal developers found erecting various structures on site, which matter should come before court on 13th September, 2017 before Justice Yvonne Chembe.
“Upon hearing the advocate for the applicant and upon reading the affidavit in support filed herein by one Qiao Junwei and the applicant herein having undertaken to indemnify any damages that may occur as a result of this order should this honourable court say so.
“It is hereby directed that an order of injunction is hereby granted restraining the respondents, their servants, agents or whosoever from encroaching or carrying out any activities on the property known as stand number LN 8841/623, Ndola and further from interfering with the applicants quiet enjoyment of the property pending hearing of the main matter in full cost be in the cause,” the court indictment read.
And the council’s legal counsel, a Ms Simwinga, told the Daily Nation they were not aware of the legal suit over the said property, and would soon engage the Chinese firm over the action.
In 2013, the Ndola council and Henan Guoji signed a memorandum of understanding for the construction of more than 2,000 houses at a cost of US$200 million at Dola Hill in Ndola.
But some people have since encroached on the land earmarked for the 2, 000 housing units, which has delayed the commencement of the project, which some of the alleged squatters claim to have bought.
“There is confusion because some people were claiming to have been sold the pieces of land by original owners and are demanding refund.
“We have been assured that all will be sorted out and some have since moved materials on site and commenced construction and even sunk boreholes,” the source said.
The Chinese ran to court after Copperbelt Minister Bowman Lusambo threatened to repossess the land in question from the Chinese developer, giving them a one-month ultimatum.
It was during the same meeting that Mr Lusambo directed the local authority to suspend any activity at Dola Hill until sanity was brought, ordering that all plots bought from cadres in Ndola be declared null and void.
