Ease land acquisition to Zambians

By Pelekelo Liswaniso

If it is difficult for Zambians resident in the country to acquire land, it is almost a nightmare for those living abroad to do so. Yet land is the first factor to consider if one is contemplating investment in property development, agriculture or business.

It is common knowledge that the government and the business community are working hard to develop a conducive environment for doing business in Zambia. The recent developments in the mines and modern shopping malls springing up across the country are there for all to see.

What is of concern, however, is whether ordinary Zambians are also getting a fair share of their own land to enable them to engage in income-generating ventures, including agriculture.

A Zambian economist, Yusuf Dodia, recently observed that some quarters of central and local government have, unfortunately, been extravagant in allocating land to all descriptions of investors, whether local or foreign.

Huge tracts of land have been given out to people and businesses that have sat on these properties only to re-sell them years later at astronomical prices, while local residents cannot access land for domestic and small-scale commercial or agricultural development.

Mr Dodia cites the shores of Lake Kariba from Siavonga right down beyond Maamba, where big chunks of land have been given to people outside the local communities. Many of these pieces of land have not seen a single piece of development in the form of buildings or other infrastructure beyond a simple barbed wire perimeter fence.

This scenario is, in fact, common in most parts of the country where huge tracts of land are left idle for a long time only to be sold to foreign investors with plenty of liquid cash.

Land acquisition by ordinary people is not an easy matter as it is further compounded by the long and arduous procedures one has to follow at the councils, Ministry of Lands or through the traditional rulers.

The directive by President Rupiah Banda to Minister of Finance and National Planning Situmbeko Musokotwane and Minister of Lands Peter Daka to find ways of easing the process of acquiring land, especially for Zambians living abroad, is, therefore, very timely.

Zambia is currently an ideal destination for investment, and financial magnates across the globe target land and other resources for their investments. As the country opens up to the outside world, it is important that indigenous people have access to their own land and are not reduced to hopeless spectators.

Yes, local communities are encouraged to accept and support developments driven by foreign capital as these can lead to improvements in the quality of their lives. But when the people feel that they are mere spectators, they are likely to resent the developments and look for ways of undermining them.

There are also short- and long-term political ramifications of such a situation.
Addressing scores of Zambians living in New York on Tuesday, the President was emphatic that land is valuable and Zambians regardless of where they live should acquire pieces of land for agriculture and other investments. The “big investor” syndrome should not hold sway in perpetuity.

The challenge now is for the relevant stakeholders to do some domestic housekeeping and ensure that strategic planning of land allocation is instituted to enable local people and those in the diaspora to access land without difficulty.