Maravi

LETTERS

New constitution to enforcement agencies
By Jenkins Chisoni,Glasgow
Tuesday March 13, 2007 [02:00]

Mike Mulabe of Hong Kong, please,we need a good constitution to arm the agencies so that we can unburden the President. Don't blame the agencies for they are indeed toothless in their present condition as you have correctly concluded.They are required to have a complainant before they can move in to investigate.That is why you you see them move only when the President coughs.

If you offered to become the complainant Mike, the agencies would like to start the investigations immediately but they would still be cautious or apprehensive about which big guns they would be upsetting among the politicians. Do you still blame the agencies?

Where do we go Mike, as citizens with our toothless agencies? That is why I am emphasising the need for a new constitution in most of my articles to the Post. Our hope through the Post, LAZ,the churches, NGOs and other institutions must always be sustained as the alternative is continued servitude with our cosmetic agencies.


http://www.postzambia.com/post-read_article.php?articleId=23751

Poor state of Livingstone road
By Ryan Sikamwaya
Tuesday March 13, 2007 [02:00]

The road from Zimba to Livingstone as you are coming from Lusaka is in bad state and we don’t know what the government is doing about this.

Members of parliament where are you? You are the same people who were using the state of the road to campaign but now that the elections are over, the promises are not coming through. the road has been neglected from the time dr Kaunda was president to date. the road has caused alot of inconveniences to the operations of some organisations. for example, we don’t receive The Post in good time due to the bad state of the road.

Let us see you stand up and be counted before we lose our confidence in you. Governemnt officals should use raod transport within Zambia so that they see the sate of the roads instead of using planes and helicopters. Each year billions of kwacha are allocated to the transport and road sector but we see little progress or nothing at all in some areas.



http://www.postzambia.com/post-read_article.php?articleId=23745

Revisit land tenure
By Concerned Citizen
Tuesday March 13, 2007 [02:00]

I echo the Post editorial comment of March, Friday 2, 2007, on the call to revisit the land Act of 1995, following the revelation of the alleged corrupt practices in the lands ministry, surprisingly by The Post and not the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC). President Levy Mwanawasa dismissed lands minister, Gladys Nyirongo, and appointed Deputy Minister of Justice, Bradford Machila as a replacement, and suspended Commissioner of Lands, Frightone Sichone, who has been acting permanent secretary (PS) ever since Mukuka Zimba was suspended on the alleged illegal land allocation irregularities.

Then begs the question,: Where were the ACC, Drug-Enforcement Commission (DEC), the Police and Office of the President officers? There are more questions than answers.

However, the root of the problem of the Ministry of Lands lies not in individual officers, but in the land tenure and alienation system. The land Act of 1995 gives too much power to the Commissioner of Lands; the system is bureaucratic; and there are too many administrative bottlenecks. There is need to have an overhaul of the land tenure and alienation system in order to remove the bottlenecks.

There are stories that some officers in the ministry have turned land into an alleged lucrative business, ‘Buy and re-sell land’: they acquire pieces of land at no cost at all and re-sale it at exorbitant prices between K7 million to K45 million or more, depending on the area where the piece of land is located.

Yet the poor Zambians cannot afford to acquire even a small piece of land. Why? The requirements for one to apply for residential piece of land are prohibitive: Bank account statement is not kind to workers earning a K500, 000 tax-free incomes. Do you expect any of them to have a fat bank account?

Suppose, the worker recently started work, with a minimum balance in the bank account, and wants a residential piece of land, what documents can he or she submit? What about 80 per cent of the people in the informal sector?

I think access to land must be a right of every Zambian. Every Zambian, who has never acquired any piece of land should use an NRC and affidavit to apply for a residential piece of land, and then given a three- year period in which to develop the land. This will help many poor Zambians acquire land and build decent houses.

In the case of commercial plots, the requirements should remain the same with minimum changes. There is need to reform the land tenure and alienation system through a consultative process.

I urge the president to consider land reform as an urgent matter, and an area of priority to human and economic development in an attempt to address the alleged corruption in the ministry.



http://www.postzambia.com/post-read_article.php?articleId=23746

Demolishing of illegal structures
By Gundamtambo, UK
Tuesday March 13, 2007 [02:00]

Allow me to comment on the necessary and impending demolitions of illegally constructed structures in Lusaka. I fully agree with the move to raze out of sight the illegal buildings and similar infrastructure across the country. I believe that this move will bring about some kind of order and will render our towns and cities to carefully planned appearances. However, let me remind the public servants charged with this awesome task to tread cautiously so that they do not create more poverty in the lives of the poor.

For some of the people whose structures will be affected, those structures represent all that they are in monitory and material terms. Those "ugly" buildings are all they have. Considering the fact that the civic government slumbered, and became negligent of their duties, the burden must not totally lie upon the shoulders of the owners of these buildings.

The government of the day must share the burden with these citizens and residents by making sure that before the demolitions commence, the authorities convene meetings with the people who will be affected. The government must find alternative locations and provisions to help these people build their houses and businesses again.

I want to suppose that the government does not want to antagonise the people whose lives we are talking about when we talk about these buildings. I for one will be very sad to see the Ng'ombe land and displacement saga repeat itself, or the story about the clean-up in neighbouring Zimbabwe which has left the people with nothing. In short, I am saying to the government think before you acts! You are dealing with people and their lives.





http://www.postzambia.com/post-read_article.php?articleId=23751

Teta and N/Western
By Jenkins Chisoni
Tuesday March 13, 2007 [02:00]

Editor,

I agree with Tetamashimba when he talks about de-campaigning any corrupt aspirant for the Republican presidency. But I certainly don't like his superiority in the ownership of a whole North-Western province. Only Teta has knowledge about what is happening in the political arena amongst all the people from North-Western Province.

Quote:"I will go to the people of North-Western Province and tell them that a corrupt person has been elected,don't vote for him." Ha!! What arrogance! Don't individuals in that province have opinions of their own?

Don't they read newspapers,watch television or listen to the radio to help them make up their own minds? No, Teta please, stop patronising people. Days are gone when your kind of approach to politics could be entertained.

Labels: DEMOLITIONS, LAND, LETTERS, ROADS

posted by MrK @ 6:40 AM