‘Councillors have themselves to blame’

ROGERS KALERO writes SUSPENDED councillors at the Kitwe City Council (KCC) have gotten what they deserve because they had gone on rampage illegally allocating land with impunity,” a cross-section of society in Kitwe has charged. Some residents said the three months suspension was an appropriate action to be taken and added that councillors who would […]

‘Councillors have themselves to blame’
ROGERS KALERO writes SUSPENDED councillors at the Kitwe City Council (KCC) have gotten what they deserve because they had gone on rampage illegally allocating land with impunity,” a cross-section of society in Kitwe has charged. Some residents said the three months suspension was an appropriate action to be taken and added that councillors who would be found guilty, must receive stern disciplinary action. William Ngosa said the suspension of the council was the right action, which would facilitate investigations on how various pieces of land were allocated and why certain portions had sparked disputes. Mr Ngosa said the council should explain how the land near the show ground and Polo club were allocated and why the squatters in the area had always been adamant to vacate the place. Fortune Nkonde, another resident, said some councillors become arrogant and did not heed avice even on straight forward matters. John Foloshi said the councillors must be investigated vigorously so that the culprits could be prosecuted. He said not all councillors were involved in the illegal land sale, hence the need to ensure that the investigation was thorough to the extent that innocent officials could be vindicated. Other residents on Kitwe Residents Blog welcomed the suspension and described the conduct of some councillors as selfish and wanting to become wealth instantly. One Blogger identified as Comrade Daaram said it was sad that it had to take the Minister of Local Government, Charles Banda, to crack a whip. “It must take the whole lot of the Minister to take a whip sure? One person so many plots in Kitwe sure? Things we see on social media,” Daaram said. Kitwe experienced wanton illegal land deals in many areas including Zamtan, Zambia Railways Limited land near Manica Freight Services, Presidential Guest house area and other part of the city. Recently, a video went viral of a councillor inciting youths to protest against people who were claiming a piece of land which he had illegally allocated. The Sun