Maravi

Lands commissioner's plots raise questions Pt 1

Lands commissioner's plots raise questions
By Nomusa Michelo
Monday February 26, 2007 [02:00]

QUESTIONS have been raised over the manner in which Commissioner of Lands Fightone Sichone has acquired several pieces of land around the country. According to sources at the Ministry of Lands, Sichone has established a syndicate at the ministry, which he works with to parcel and share plots and has a selection of estate agents who sell plots on his behalf. Prior to his appointment as Commissioner of Lands, Sichone served as Registrar of Lands for five years.

Sources say Sichone - who is now acting permanent secretary at the ministry - has acquired several properties in Lusaka and other parts of the country using his companies, Landrite Investments and Mizumbi Farms, business associates, friends and relatives. According to information obtained at the Ministry of Lands, Sichone has acquired several residential plots and farms in Lusaka among them property number LUS/11760, which he acquired from the state in his name on June 11, 2002. The affected property, was previously leased to a Chisomo Nyau Goodwin, but was re-entered on May 27, 2002 and Sichone acquired from the state on June 11, 2002 in his name. It was later sold to a Jane Sakala for K60 million on April 12, 2005.

According to sources at the ministry, Sichone and his ‘clique’ allegedly share as many as six plots and assign them in the names of friends and relatives. Among people alleged to be in Sichone’s syndicate at the ministry are legal officer Anna Mwitwa, who according to records at the deeds department acquired a piece of land, stand number LUS/34057 measuring 0.125 hectares on July 10, 2006 and transferred deeds three days later to a Kalala Chona on July 13, 2006.

Others mentioned alleged to be involved in the questionable land acquisitions, are the chief lands officer Daisy Mulenga, who generates all letters of offer for Lusaka Province, and Barnaby Mulenga, the registrar, who is responsible for signing all deeds and deeds of assignment at the ministry. Last year during his tenure as Commissioner of Lands, Sichone incorporated a company called Mizumbi Farms Limited, in which he is a majority shareholder. According to a search at the Patents and Companies Registration Office (PACRO), Sichone owns 4,500 shares in Mizumbi Farms while his partner and brother Clifford Sichone holds 500 shares of a total 5,000 shares in the company.

The search at PACRO also revealed that a second company Landrite Investments, a company limited by shares, had been registered on December 18, 2001 with Sichone and his four brothers Millan, Clifford, Harrison and Frechard Sichone also appointed directors. According to the application lodged on December 10, 2001, the principal business of Landrite is in agricultural inputs and implements, ranching and farming while other business includes general trading and land consultancy. The articles do not restrict the business that the company will conduct. Landrite Investments’ registered place of business is Stand 1328 Chambishi, Kitwe, P.O. Box 130 Chambishi.

Sichone is also a shareholder of Landrite Investments Limited, a company he has also used to acquire land. He is an equal shareholder with his brother Millan Sichone, with each owning 1,000,000 shares. Among some of the properties acquired by Landrite Investments from the state is a farm, number F/9887 measuring 154 hectares, which the company still held title as at January 24, 2007.

According to sources at the ministry, another piece of land was acquired by Sichone using his business associate Christopher Besa, the property in question is property number F/32/E/2/242, measuring 3.4143 hectares, which Besa acquired on April 11, 2003. Records at the ministry prove that after Besa acquired the property, in April 2003, deeds were transferred to Landrite Investments on April 26, 2004 and again on November 16, 2006 to Mizumbi Farms Limited, in which Sichone is the major shareholder. Records obtained at the ministry also provide evidence of this transaction. Besa is a joint owner of property number LUS/30105 in Olympia with Mutofwe Willa T/A Douglas and Partners, a law firm. Sichone is a partner of Douglas and Partners.

According to records found at the ministry, Sichone as Commissioner of Lands also allocated Mizumbi Farms two stands in Mass Media area last year in April. Mizumbi Farms on April 6, 2006, acquired stand number LUS/35210 measuring 0.1663 hectares and 15 days later on April 21, 2006 acquired stand number 35211 measuring 0.12 hectares. Mizumbi Farms was given 99-year leases, but according to records, the deeds of the two properties were surrendered to the state on January 16, 2006.

Sources say Sichone had been tipped about queries on the acquisition of his various properties, and had begun surrendering and disposing of some of the properties. The sources also claimed that Sichone had bought several properties from the state, which he registered in the names of trusted friends and relatives in various parts of the country. According to records at the ministry, Sichone’s brother Clifford who is also a shareholder of Mizumbi Farms, acquired a property in Lusaka, property number LUS/34771 measuring 0.15 hectares from the state on April 15, 2005. On March 31, 2006 the property came under investigation and, remarks on the print out for the property read “No further entries on this property without reference to the registrar-property allocation is under investigation”.

But on the same document on the property, on September 26, 2006 there came instructions from the Commissioner of Lands to cancel the previous remarks and the property was sold. “Remark cancelled following instructions from lands commissioner-dated 26/09/2006,” the document stated.

Meanwhile, the property was sold to Goodman Crushers and Block Making Company for K105 million on September 18, 2006 almost two weeks before the instruction came from Sichone. Records at the ministry prove that the ministry offered a plot, property number LUS/36012 to Sichone’s cousin Zanji Namukoko on August 1, 2006. The sources stated that Sichone had also facilitated the acquisition of land by many top government officials in order to gain favour. “There are many people who have benefited from this man. Sichone works with many people at the ministry, it is a whole system,” the sources said. “All of these people he works with have plots in Mass Media, but most of them have sold their plots. If you check the records are there.”

And when contacted, Sichone said as far as he was concerned, he had not abused his authority as Commissioner of Lands. When asked to comment about the various properties he had acquired through Mizumbi Farms and Landrite Investments, Sichone denied allegations of abuse of authority. Sichone, who initially was calm during the interview, when asked to comment on general corruption in the ministry, became uncomfortable when asked about his involvement in alleged corrupt practices.

However, Sichone admitted that he was a major shareholder in both Mizumbi Farms and Landrite Investments, and that he had used his discretion to allocate land to friends and relatives. “Mizumbi farms yes is my company and my brother, we are the two shareholders. The farm, Mizumbi is in Chamba Valley, it is a small holding okay. And it is very clear as to what Mizumbi Farms does. Mizumbi Farms is mine. I cannot deny that fact. Go to people, ask them, when did I acquire that farm 2002 or 2003. I was registrar of lands at that time, so I don’t know whether I gave myself that farm.”

Sichone explained that the farm (F/32/E/2/242) owned by Mizumbi Farms was previously owned by his friend Besa who had no use for it and decided to surrender it to Sichone in exchange for a residential plot. “Mr Besa was given that property, he needed a residential property and not a small holding. So he had to transfer it to me and under Landrite Investments, that company was incorporated in 2001, I was not Commissioner of Lands that time,” he said.

Sichone also admitted that he had used the excess discretion given to the Commissioner of Lands to allocate land to friends. “I’ll be very honest with you, it’s true I have allocated land to friends and it’s normal for me. So you mean all the people I was with at school, the people I have met, how many friends do I have, hundreds if not thousands, so no one of them can get a plot? The question is did they follow procedure? That is what we should be focusing on. Some of my former classmates we cannot even talk, because they feel I have neglected them when I became Commissioner of Lands,” he said. “The discretion was exercised by the commissioner in land allocation. And this is the discretion I was exercising, but we cannot go back to that discretion because we have done away with it. “It was done then but not anymore. There are now rules, from the time we started advertising if there is anyone who will claim I’ve given my friend a plot during this period, it is not correct. We started advertising mid last year. So even these things you find the friends I’ve talked about it was just to the commissioner’s discretion to allocate at that time, which we are saying it is not the correct thing, because you don’t need to be answering why you gave a person land, there should be a procedure.”

Sichone said he believed he did not abuse his authority. “Sincerely I don’t see how I have abused my authority in that regard, seriously. The problem with office of commissioners is that people don’t expect you to make decision because any decision you make is deemed to have been influenced,” he said. And on his companies acquiring land, Sichone said although the name Landrite might suggest that the company dealt in land matters it is not related to land matters and was not involved in the buying and selling of land.

“If you look at the certificate of incorporation, I changed the business plan way before I was Commissioner of Lands. So Landrite is a company, which is solely used for the supply and distribution of farming inputs. My brother has been running it on the Copperbelt. I have never been active. That Landrite has never involved itself in any land sales. Those investigations can be done anyway,” Sichone said. “Then Mizumbi was allocated plots during my tenure. So the question is me as Commissioner of Lands should I own a property in this country or not? If I’m entitled, I need to know. In fact, you would note that after a second thought and considering I had no use for the land I surrendered the land voluntarily actually, without anybody asking me, with no pressure actually. I had no use for it. There are other people who would be more interested, and I had no interest in them.”

When asked about the reason for acquiring the plots in Mass Media last year, Sichone said he had use for them at the time, which he would not disclose, but later surrendered them because he had no use for them. “For me to get those plots I had to get security clearance. For me to get land as Commissioner of Lands, I have to seek security clearance from security wings who can guarantee. Because it is me who gives land, the arrangement is such that somebody else should sign,” he said. “And when you look at records Clifford is my brother who got land during Mr (Nathaniel) Inambao’s term. My brother and me, it will be a very sad country to live in if because I’m commissioner my brothers can never own property. It is total corruption my sister if I came into this office and I start saying my brother this property there, it is wrong. But for my brother to have property even if he decides to sell whatever, he is not a kid. It’s not a brother I keep at home, he’s a married man. He runs his own affairs. If you look at the leases, the one who is commissioner is Inambao. So if my brother has sold a property, it will be sad for me and to be thought as corrupt.”

Sichone said all properties he owns through Landrite were obtained before he became Commissioner of Lands. “Those to do with Landrite, I did those before I was commissioner, the only question maybe I can answer is Mizumbi Farms. On that one I have no apologies because that is where I have put all my stake. People must be mindful that I have not been here for two years, this is my seventh year at the ministry so am I so irresponsible that I have not saved anything. That is the only investment I have,” he said. “I have heard people even alleging that I have built houses, offices where my business associates are operating. I have heard those stories. Those are lawyers who are there. They can be interviewed and asked. So people want to say I have abused my authority just because I gave a plot to Mizumbi Farms in Mass Media, which plot was given after consultation and inquiries. I have really no worries. With Mass Media, what must be understood is that the initiation and recommendation was done by Zambia Air Force (ZAF), meaning for me to get a property at Mass Media it meant it had to go with the list and recommendation by ZAF, not that I woke up one day and gave myself land.”

And when asked about the team he allegedly works with to share and allocate land, Sichone said he wondered why people questioned his working with colleagues who were performing statutory functions. “I thought I’m supposed to work with my colleagues. So me as commissioner I use the legal officer, use the lands officer and use the registrar. Anna Mwitwa might be a junior officer but she reports to the Commissioner of Lands, she doesn’t report to the chief lands officer. I’m not the one who made that structure, we found it. So when people see Anna getting very close they start talking. So people who are aggrieved should change the structure so that she starts reporting elsewhere. Barnaby, the registrar who performs statutory function, he doesn’t report to me so if he is performing his duties I don’t see how I come in to influence his decision. “When you are running an organisation, you can only work with a team you have constituted, even at government level you cannot tell me that (President Levy) Mwanawasa will pick anyone as long as he’s a human being. And Mrs Mulenga is the lands officer, her duty is to issue offer letters. She’s the one who issues offers so I don’t know who should issue offers, another, officer not her? And she issues offers according to authority given through me and the chief lands officer Mr Siansumo, after I have approved,’ Sichone stated. “Mizumbi Farms I have agreed I don’t deny the farm, but what I’m saying is at the time of allocation plots, I didn’t work single-handedly and gave myself that property. Permission had to be sought from ZAF who were actually responsible for the land. So, during this period I have been Commissioner of Lands, I will go with no plot? What do I do if I want a property?”

Sichone said there was a serious scarcity of land in Lusaka, which made it difficult to allocate land without people complaining. “So to balance the equation what is at stake is there is scarcity of land, a serious scarcity of land such that if you have 20 plots you have 50 applications whichever manner you allocate you can only give 20. I thought what was wrong was fundamentally abuse of authority, or to just do things which are not reasonable to disadvantage people in favour of friends and relatives,” he said. “The only way to deal with the issue we really need to look at the law. That is the only thing that will curb these things. Because if I exercise my discretion and people challenge the discretion it becomes worrying.”

When asked to comment on allegations of corruption in the ministry earlier in the interview, Sichone admitted that there was corruption in the ministry, which must be dealt with. “Corruption is defined under the ACC Act as to do with favour bribes and undue advantage, abuse of office. So the question is are we doing that? And if we are doing that, we have investigative wings of government, which is ACC, DEC the police and others. So if there is this rampant corruption in the ministry, I think we need to work together with these investigative wings to stop the song,” he said. “And we cannot go on without taking measures. In my view, we need to put a system in place, which will curtail these activities. One of them is these integrity committee, which have been set up. We are all striving to ensure that we champion the cause. There is no one who would want to be insulted every day and doesn’t take offence. We are also not proud to be associated with the ministry, which is rated as the most corrupt. We also want to walk our heads high, with a free mind, not where everybody wants to look at the suit I’m wearing and whether it is from corrupt resources,” Sichone said.

He also said there was nobody in government who did not own property.

Labels: CORRUPTION, LAND

posted by MrK @ 4:41 PM