Nkomesha unworried about being labelled stubborn over land
Nkomesha unworried about being labelled stubborn over landBy Lambwe Kachali in Chongwe
Monday November 12, 2007 [03:00]
CHIEFTAINESS Nkomesha of the Soli people in Chongwe district has said it is very unfortunate that the government views her as the most stubborn chief in Lusaka Province over land issues. Meanwhile, Meanwood Housing Project executive chairman Robinson Zulu has said that lack of accommodation in Lusaka has become a source of great concern.
In an interview after she toured Meanwood and Ndeke housing projects on Friday, chieftainess Nkomesha confirmed that most government officials had told her that she was stubborn because she did not want her land to be distributed anyhow to foreign investors.
She said she always put the interest of the local people above others.
“The government and most people, especially foreigners are telling me that I am a very difficult chief and that I am stubborn because I don’t want to sell land to foreigners. Yes, I am, because it pains me when I see people being displaced from their original land just because of the love for money. I need to protect my people from unnecessary displacements,” she said.
And chieftainess Nkomesha said the government should concentrate on empowering local people rather than foreigners if poverty had to be tackled effectively in Zambia.
She said it would be difficult to address issues of poverty and displacements in the country if the government concentrated on empowering foreign investment.
“If the focus is on foreign investment as a priority, then my appeal to government is that local investors must be encouraged at all cost because Zambia is their country. This is the country where they can be proud of and invest freely and they need enough support from government,” chieftainess Nkomesha said.
She expressed happiness at the quality of houses under the Meanwood Housing Project.
She said Chongwe District Council would greatly benefit from the project.
“Our council has no capacity of raising revenue for its operations, but with these structures coming up, I am hopeful that they will be able to raise enough money through housing rates to help its operations,” chieftainess Nkomesha said. “But as the council does that, they also need to provide the required services. This area is not in the city, therefore Chongwe council must be in full control to collect the revenue.”
Chieftainess Nkomesha appealed to local investors to put the interest of the ordinary Zambians first.
“When carrying out such projects, you should always put yourselves in the poor man’s shoes. You need to ensure that the prices are much lower and affordable to meet a poor man’s pocket because shelter is very important and everybody needs it,” said chieftainess Nkomesha.
And Zulu said the project would cater for Zambians with different income levels.
“These plots were sold at K3.5 million each because we wanted to cater for everybody. But we have been overwhelmed by the quality of houses being built. We never felt that the quality of houses would be so high. Initially, most people doubted but now they have realised that we meant well and we want to take on more housing developments. We feel shelter is one of the most important thing in someone’s life,” said Zulu.
Labels: CHIEFS, CHONGWE, FDI, LAND
posted by MrK @ 5:39 PM
4 Comments:
There goes a woman of substance ! If only my chief had half of her brains ! Just heard disturbing reports that my village would soon disappear to pave way for CHINESE Gold Prospectors - Seven chiefs will be affected by this callous move .... whilst others are fighting relentlessly, my chief is relying on his informers since he can't read or write and my fear is that he will just append his thumb print to the white paper laid before him ... I hope not! In this day and age, we decided to vote for someone who can't read or write to lead us into the ruthless cyber world! If only.....
slm
SLM,
I have been thinking a lot about the role of chiefs in future local government.
Chiefs like Nkomesha sound like they are at least as good (or better than) any other elected local government leader.
If they or their children received higher education, they could make a real difference in local development.
As a stop-gap measure, they could have a well educated advisor.
Maybe there should be an 'induna program', for Africans and African Americans with business degrees, so they can advise a specific chief on economic matters.
If the right knowledge (business school graduates) was linked to the right intent (Chief's interest in their own people), a lot of good could be done.
By the way, great to see you posting here.
anyone involved with the meanwood housing endeavour? how are they? do they have a website? the one i was given, www.meanwood.co.zm seems to be dead. any help out there?
moono
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