Maravi

400 C/belt teachers face eviction from ZCCM houses

400 C/belt teachers face eviction from ZCCM houses
Written by Masuzyo Chakwe
Sunday, November 30, 2008 3:26:57 PM

OVER 400 teachers who were occupying ZCCM houses on the Copperbelt face possible eviction tomorrow after they lost their case to purchase the houses.

And Patriotic Front (PF) Nchanga member of parliament Wylbur Simuusa has since appealed to the government to quickly intervene in the matter.

The families, most of whom were teachers’, were sitting tenants in 1996 when the pronouncement was made by the then president Frederick Chiluba that sitting tenants should be sold houses they occupy.

However, the court last week ruled that the teachers could not occupy the houses because the tenancy agreements were between the Ministry of Education and ZCCM but not individual teachers.

High Court judge Ernest Mukulwamutiyo stated that the teachers were not employees of ZCCM and therefore had no basis upon which they claimed the houses should have been sold to them.

The court stated that in the totality of the evidence on record, the teachers had failed to make out their case against ZCCM on balance of probabilities.

Judge Mukulwamutiyo also stated that the teachers' claims were thus false and were dismissed.

The court entered judgment in favour of ZCCM and asked the teachers to vacate the houses.

Judge Mukulwamutiyo awarded ZCCM profits against the teachers from the date the houses were sold to the ZCCM miners to the date the teachers vacant the houses.

And Simuusa said what the judgment implied was that the evictions would start anytime.

"I had raised a point of order in Parliament asking the education minister if it was in order for him to remain silent the over 400 non-miners, mostly teachers who were faced with imminent eviction, work stoppage and running battles," he said.

Simuusa said this issue had been going on for the past 12 years and therefore called for political intervention.

Simuusa said he had asked the Copperbelt minister to speak to the Vice-President George Kunda to quickly resolve this issue.

He said this issue required political intervention.

"I want the government and President Rupiah Banda to intervene in the problem. I am on the ground and there could be eminent war. This problem is beyond me and I can only do this much," said Simuusa.

He has since called for all parties involved in the issue to remain calm and allow for an amicable solution and way forward to be found.

Labels: CBU, HOUSING, TEACHERS, ZCCM-IH

posted by MrK @ 3:26 PM