It will be easy to plan for development in Kabwe Central Constituency when Medeem Zambia Limited completes documentation and mapping of some peri-urban settlements, Member of Parliament Tutwa Ngulube has said. Last year, the Kabwe Municipal Council engaged Medeem Zambia Limited to document and map squatter settlements to facilitate their upgrading and formalisation.

The exercise covers Kabwe Central and Bwacha constituencies, and among the targeted settlements are Nkoli, Makululu, Kamushanga, Katondo, Waya, Maipambe and Kawama. “With the system that Medeem Zambia Limited is using to collect information, it’s able to show the size of land,” Mr Ngulube said. “They are able to capture details of the owner of the land such that even if you go to court, it’s possible to say this one has encroached on my land.”

Mr Ngulube said in an interview due to the fact that some settlements were not properly planned for, re-planning them and facilitating infrastructure development has been a challenge. He also said there have been cases of land disputes in unplanned settlements due to lack of clear boundaries.
Mr Ngulube commended the Kabwe Municipal Council for engaging Medeem Zambia Limited because the information the company is gathering is useful in helping people in unplanned settlements have valid documentation of the land they occupy.

“The documentation has advantages because it shows the exact location of the property and its arrangement. “It could be in Kamakuti or Katondo area, but the Medeem document will show the actual place in Katondo,” he said. Mr Ngulube said as a representative of people in Kabwe Central constituency, it will be easy for him to play an effective role in planning for development of infrastructure such as health facilities in unplanned settlements.

He said it is encouraging that the exercise also includes capturing and mapping of churches and other places of worship.
“We believe when that processing is centralised, it will be very easy for the council to do planning. It will also be easy for us politicians to plan for development and identify owners of land,” Mr Ngulube said. He wants all unplanned settlements in Kabwe Central constituency to be properly planned for development