Irate residents chase Chimwemwe MP

By ROGERS KALERO CHIMWEMWE Member of Parliament Mwila Mutale was on Tuesday afternoon chased from a meeting called to discuss land issues at Happy Community School which has been taken over by Government The Independent MP was chased by a faction, comprising the school administrators and some members of the Kawama community who demanded to be given four hectares of land while the school should have 2.7 hectares. Mr Mutale said a faction, which was also being supported by Kawama ward councillor, Bonnie Kaonga, went to disrupt the meeting, but they arrived when it had almost finished. He said the faction chased him from the meeting because he was against the idea of the school administrators and some members of the community getting four hectares and the school getting 2.7 hectares “Yes, I was invited by the Parents Teachers Association (PTA) at Happy Community School to go and meet them, so I stated my position on the issue of land. I was against the idea of the school administrators and members of the community sharing four hectares “So we discussed everything and the meeting was almost concluded when the faction which comprised the school administrators and some members of the community came in two bus-loads to disrupt the meeting,” Mr Mutale said. Mr Mutale said the school administrators and some members of the community wanted to share the four hectares so that they could start selling it to other people. But Mr Kaonga denied being part of the faction which wanted to get the four hectares and advised the MP to tell the truth on various issues in the constituency. He said Mr Mutale had failed to fulfil his campaign promises in the five year term he had been an MP and was now trying to tarnish other people’s names. “The MP, Mr Mutale must learn to tell the truth instead of blaming others for his own failures. I am not part of the school administrators or the community which want to sell the 4 hectares of land. No. “The matter has been ably handled by the Kitwe City Council, but he wants to gain political mileage for nothing. I can’t be surprised to hear that he was chased,” Mr Kaonga said. And Kitwe Town Clerk Mbulo Seke said the school administration had failed to run the school and so Government decided to take over the institution. Mr Seke said the school has 6.7 hectares of land and that the council resolution stated that 2.7 hectares should be given to the school while two hectares should be reserved a mini hospital in Chimwemwe constituency. “The other two hectares of land should be used to cover expenses for winding up. That is if the school has employees or any expenses which needed to be covered. As a council, we will be writing to the school administrators regarding the issue,” Mr Seke said.