ZAMBIA: LAND/LUSAKA TIMES/4/7/18 SABANews 1

SOLWEZI – A cultural lobby group, the NSAKWA YABA KAONDE in NORTH-WESTERN Province of ZAMBIA has appealed to traditional leaders to avoid selling land to foreigners.
NSAKWA YABA KAONDE Vice Chairperson GOODSON SANSAKUWA has made the call during the NTONGO Traditional Ceremony of the KAONDE speaking people under Chief CHIZELA.
He says traditional leaders should welcome investors who come to do business in the region but have to discourage their residents from selling the soil.
Mr SANSAKUWA says the land belongs to locals and future generations; meaning chiefs should ensure people have access to land for the betterment of their livelihoods and of the country.
Meanwhile, NORTH-WESTERN Provincial Permanent Secretary EPHRAIM MATEYO has urged all ethnic groups in the country to respect their cultures and traditions.
He has further assured the NSAKWA YABA KAONDE the government has taken note of their concern and will work with traditional leaders to stop the act of selling land.
Land ownership is a critical in a number of SADC countries that have not yet settles millions of residents displaced by colonial systems, although nations like ZAMBIA have theirs in abundance.
NAMIBIA is struggling to silence growing public protests in demand for accommodation and farming spaces, while beneficiaries of apartheid rule continue to hold on to vast tracts.
Like neighbouring ZIMBABWE, the country is under a willing-buyer-willing-seller contract signed as part of conditions for independence in 1990; which has so far failed to pay off.
The regional powerhouse, SOUTH AFRICA, is on the other hand also facing similar and growing calls for black access to land.
SADC does not have a publicly known strategy to end the volatile issues of land occupation and resettlement in affected countries, even after a wakeup call from the devastating events at the turn of the Century in ZIMBABWE./Sabanews/cam