1 May 2008
Ndola — THE Kitwe City Council has suspended four officers for alleged illegal allocation of plots and swindling residents out of millions of Kwacha.
Town Clerk Ali Simwinga confirmed the suspension of the officers and added that the council was still investigating others who had allegedly teamed up with illegal land dealers commonly known as "Pungwas."
Mr Simwinga said the council's system would catch up with all officers involved in dubious land deals in the city.
The suspended officers were registry clerk, Fridah Mungo, senior administrative officer at the legal department, Hannanias Ukwimi, committee clerk, Lukanga Kapeshi and a resettlement officer, Charity Jere Mwewa.
Mr Simwinga said the four would soon be reported to the police so that the law could take its course.
"As a council, we have refused to baptise Lucifer and we shall ensure that our officers who are working with 'pungwas' in their illegal land deals are disciplined. We want to bring sanity in land allocation in the city," Mr Simwinga said.
He said that the action against the quartet would serve as a lesson to others who were involved in similar activities.
He said many times, Kitwe residents had been swindled out of their money and it was time that a whip was cracked to show those involved in the vice that the law could catch up with them.
Mr Simwinga said the council had since written to the principal land officer to complain because it seemed some officers at the lands department were conniving with certain individuals in illegal land deals.
"The suspension of the four is just the beginning of worse things to come for some of our officers who are involved in the illegal allocation of plots. Many residents have been swindled by 'pungwas' who are working with our officers. We have cracked our whip on the four officers," he said.
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