Maravi

Solwezi council exposes scam on selling of plots

Solwezi council exposes scam on selling of plots
By Mulimbi Mulaliki in Solwezi
Tuesday July 01, 2008 [04:00]

SOLWEZI Municipal Council workers’ scam of selling illegal plots and producing fake council minutes has been exposed. According to a report released by an adhoc committee that was formed to investigate allegations of malpractices by Solwezi council staff in plot allocation, Solwezi residents in their submission observed that there was no order in the allocation of plots as anyone was able to sell a plot.

The adhoc committee heard how senior council officers formed a cartel, in which they used to produce fake minutes purporting that the council approved the sale of the illegal plots.

“Double allocation of plots to more than one person with authenticated papers, this is clear corruption and it shows that there was no management supervision starting from the town clerk to the directors of departments,” read part of the adhoc committee’s report.
The committee, which was appointed by Solwezi Mayor, Emmanuel Chihili, chaired by Solwezi district administrative officer, Luyanga Kapumo and ratified by a full council meeting, also heard how the local authority on several occasions opted to operate in isolation from both the provincial planning office and North Western Province Planning Authority (NWPPA).

“Faking of minutes is common as a way of allocating plots dubiously, for example in the case of a Mr Mvula Robert who came to Solwezi in March, 2008 but given minutes that showed that he attended interviews on 30th August 2007. All the documents are duly endorsed and date stamped 7th November 2007 before the officer arrived in Solwezi. This is a clear case of abuse of office on the part of the chief officers that are given the mandate to issue these documents. This is an example of plots that have been sold to people without the council benefiting or getting the money,” the adhoc committee’s report read in part.

Labels: CORRUPTION, COUNCILS, LAND, SOLWEZI COUNCIL

posted by MrK @ 4:30 PM