Acting Republican President Wina Asks House of Chiefs to assist in Curbing Land Grabbing

Acting Republican President, Mrs Inonge Wina, has requested the House of Chiefs, through its Chairperson, Her Royal Highness Senior Chieftainess Nkomeshya Mukamabo II, to engage Government in finding the best ways in which land can be alienated without causing displacements of vulnerable groups. She was speaking at the Mulungushi International Conference Centre in Lusaka today, 27^th August, 2015, when she officially opened the Participatory Ecological Land Use Management (PELUM) Association Regional Small Scale Farmers’ Symposium.

The acting Republican President, whose substantive position is Republican Vice President, was responding to Chieftainess Nkomeshya’s concerns on the rising incidents of land grabbing involving investors and small scale farmers. The official opening ceremony, was also attended by traditional leaders, Chief Sinazongwe of Sinanzongwe district and Chief Chibale of Serenje district, the Minister of Defence and acting Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives (MACO), Richwell Siamunene, the deputy minister of the Ministry of Lands, Natural Resources, Natural Resources and Environment (MLNREP) and a representative from the Clergy Bishop Joshua Banda of Northmead Assemblies.

Chieftainess Nkomeshya reminded traditional leaders that ‘it is our duty to fight for what belongs to our people’ describing these people as small scale farmers who use a hoe to till (prepare) their land. She observed that investors were displacing people from their homeland reiterating that ‘I have said no to displacement of my people’. She called on the Government to stop and halt this increasing trend of land grabbing involving investors. The acting President invited the Chieftainess and the entire House of Chiefs to collaborate in curbing land grabbing. She also urged the House of Chiefs to look into the issue of illegal selling of land by Chiefs to investors without informing their people (or subjects) to address rising incidents of displacements.

Local Maize variety

Cassava Cuttings

The symposium is being attended by several small scale farmers and members of PELUM Association from PELUM member countries in Eastern and Southern Africa. These are Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Swaziland, Lesotho, Botswana, Zambia and South Africa. The acting President, Mrs. Inonge Wina, in her official opening paid tribute to the Republican President, Edgar Chagwa Lungu, for receiving the regional pro-poor Governance Award. She said that the Zambian Government regcognised the important role that the agriculture sector played in the livelihoods of the people and would therefore remain committed to the implementation of the Comprehensive African Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) compact. She also assured the small scale farmers that the Government is willing to listen to their voices in finding solutions to the challenges that were preventing the potential of agriculture to reduce poverty and contribute to economic emancipation for the majority of farm households to be realised. She highlighted the following challenges: limited access to finance; lack of infrastructure e.g. roads and; unreliable water supply. She visited the farmers’ exhibition stands before leaving the event. Exhibitors were from PELUM Association member countries. Various seeds and planting materials were displayed by the farmers (see picture inserts on the left).