SQUATTER IN YOUR COUNTRY

BY CHRIS HABEENZU

Zambia's Second Republican President the late Dr. Fredrick Chiluba after assuming office embarked on the citizens housing empowerment programme that saw hundreds of Zambians becoming proud owners of the houses.This move no doubt placed smiles on many beneficiaries who bought the houses at give away prices.This further saw a massive improvement in the state of houses that had not been renovated in a long time.However during the late President Mwanawasa's reign very few activties in terms of house empwerment took place. Zambia's Second Republican President the late Dr. Fredrick Chiluba after assuming office embarked on the citizens housing empowerment programme that saw hundreds of Zambians becoming proud owners of the houses.

This move no doubt placed smiles on many beneficiaries who bought the houses at give away prices.This further saw a massive improvement in the state of houses that had not been renovated in a long time.

However during the late President Mwanawasa's reign very few activties in terms of house empwerment took place.

At one of his airport media briefing Late President Mwanawasa challenged the authorities over their complency in dealing with illegal land developers.

Late third republican President wondered why those in authority failed to stop people from putting streuctures like buildings at an early stage.

This went unanswered as the authorities were guilty of failure to contain the growing trend that had gone away out of hand.

And in President Rupiah Banda's regime more public workers and those working for parastatal compnaies have benefitted from the housing initiative.

Recently President slashed prices of houses occupied by former ZAFFICO and Forestry Department workers.

This move by President Banda to make some people on Copperbelt become proud owners of houses has however left some tenants other parts of the country wondering whether they too will empowered by houses.

One such incident is the Great North Road Zaffico and Forestry former workers who are suscipcious of the delays in issuing them with letters of sale for the houses they are occupying.

The residents were quoted in one of the Private TV stations in Zambia as complaining of no action from the authorities involved the issue.

The resident Sunday vehemently complanied that their houses' conditions have terribly deteriorated to levels of inhabitable state.

And government's move to construct more twenty thousand houses to avert the housing deficit in the country is a welcome move.