GREEN LIVING MOVEMENT PRAISES HOUSE OF CHIEFS OVER 1995 LAND ACT REVIEW ‘CONSULTATIONS’
Lusaka, Wednesday (May 1, 2024)
MEDIA STATEMENT
Green Living Movement (GLM) Team Leader Emmanuel Mutamba has commended the House of Chiefs for choosing wider grassroots consultation in the review process of the 1995 Land Act.
Mr. Mutamba said the Chiefs deserve commendation for taking the review to communities and bringing in other Chiefs that are not in the House of Chiefs.
He said land is a sensitive matter as it is everyone’s concern adding that the conversation cannot be confined to a smaller group of people.
“We commend the Chiefs for demanding that consultations go down to the people at grassroots level. Every Zambian, the present and the unborn, have the right to land. Land reform processes are of every Zambian’s interest; men, women, the youth, persons living with disabilities all have a stake in land, no one should be left behind,” he said.
Mr. Mutamba said GLM will always advocate for bottom up decision processes such as the method the House of Chiefs has taken.
In a Press Statement recently, House of Chiefs Chairperson, Chief Nkambo, said the House deferred consultations on the review of the Lands Act of 1995 and the Draft Guidelines on Customary Land Certification until consultations at provincial levels are done.
“During the House of Chiefs Session that started on 8th April, 2024, the House was scheduled to consider the proposed amendments to the Lands Act and Guidelines of Customary Land Certification. However, the House noted that matters related to the administration of land needed to be discussed starting at provincial level where all chiefs are represented before being tabled at National level. This is in line with the bottom-up approach in the consultation process. Further, the House of Chiefs noted that customary land administration hinges on customary governance and practices which differ from one chiefdom to another. It is therefore, imperative that many stakeholders are given an opportunity to have a say on this important document,” he said.
Chief Nkambo said the House urged the Ministry of Lands to ensure that wider consultation is undertaken in order to develop a law that will be accepted and owned by a wider section of key stakeholders.
“The House further noted that matters related to land administration are critical to the development of the Nation and therefore, all key stakeholders should be taken on board in the consultation process,” he said.
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