OLIVER SAMBOKO writes
@SunZambian
The announcement by Government that Chiefs will now require the backing of at least 50 percent of their indunas to give out huge tracks of land has excited villagers in Siavonga district.
The villagers spoken to by the Sun in Simamba chiefdom said they were hopeful that the land policy announced by Government through lands and Natural resources Minister Jean Kapata would help address the many challenges in the administration of traditional land.
They claimed that the new crop of traditional leaders in the area are more interested in enriching their pockets through selling land which has led to many local communities to lose their land to foreigners without getting any compensation.
The villagers further asked government to ensure that the new land policy also addressed the issue of title deeds for land under traditional hand to enable villagers secure it from dubious dealers.
One of the villagers Mr. Mweene Siamilandu said for a long time people in rural areas had suffered at the hands of their traditional leaders who were in the habit of grabbing land from their subjects and selling it to foreigners.
He said many families had lost their ancestral land to scrupulous land dealers through some chiefs.
Government would in the third quarter of this year finalize the formulation of the national land policy aimed at addressing the challenge of land wrangles and disputes.
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