The National Land Titling Agency has issued […]

The National Land Titling Agency has issued over 2,000 titles on the Copperbelt, despite having challenges with pre-planning some of the areas.

 Revealing the status quo in an interview with the Zambian Business Times—ZBT, NLTA Coordinator Emmanuel Tembo highlighted that 865 titles were issued in Chiliabombwe and 1000 titles in Luanshya.

“About 140 offer letters were issued in Chililabombwe, Luanshya. Most of the titles were in Mukomfwa, about 1,162 titles. We were just delivering to communities that we had earlier captured; these ones are different. They are not for application, but we captured them ourselves. We identified areas like Kakoso and Kawama, we collected information, and afterwards we went through a process of pre-planning and submitted the plans to the council and then the ministry of lands.”

 Emmanuel Tembo said the process of replanning is a challenging task due to the informality of most of the areas assigned.

 “In almost all the areas that we are working in, we have to really do some kind of planning. In Lusaka, John Howard, and other informal areas, we are required to do a simplified layout plan. If we are to follow the law, many people have built without structure, and we try to create access.”

 Emmanuel Tembo revealed that the Agency has begun working on Southern Province with data collection in Mazabuka, and Monze is currently underway.

According to official government data, Zambia has over 70 percent informality, with much of the area unplanned, a challenge that has many stakeholders concerned over the efforts of the government.

 Article by Samuel Mutale