GOVERNMENT SHOULD COMPENSATE CHINGOLA RESIDENTS WHOSE HOUSES WERE DEMOLISHED – KAUNDA
……says the matter should have been handled in a humane way
Lusaka…. Monday, August 22, 2022 (Smart Eagles)
Why should the government see it necessary to preserve that space for the airstrip and sacrifice the investment which our poor people have been able to put up over the years, Kelvin Kaunda laments.
The Socialist Party (SP) National Chairperson in charge of Youths and Security bemoaned the demolishing of houses in Chingola for the poor residents by the government.
Mr Kaunda is saddened that a government which promise to protect its people would wake up and in a blink of an eye, demolish the houses belonging to the poor people.
He wondered why the houses in Forest 27 haven’t been demolished yet the poor have been left without shelter.
“The question which begs answers is why is it that the houses in forest 27 have not been demolished? Is it because those occupying those houses belong to a particular class? Is it because the owners of those houses belong to an elite class? Why is it that the houses for the majority poor in Chingola have been demolished? Is it because they are poor? We have been given a reason to understand that the only reason these houses were demolished is because they were built in a reserved airstrip,” he said.
“Who is going to benefit from this airstrip? Can our people in Chingola afford an air ticket even? Can they afford an aircraft? So if the people in Chingola themselves they don’t see the need to have an airstrip within their vicinity, why should the government see it necessary to preserve that space for the airstrip and sacrifice the investment which our poor people have been able to put up over the years?”
Mr Kaunda however demanded that government should compensate all the victims.
He said the act by government to demolish the poor people’s houses is evil adding that it must be condemned by all well-meaning Zambians.
“Is this government telling us that they have no interest for the poor people in this country? We want answers from this government. As Socialist Party Youths, we are demanding that government should be able to compensate these families without exceptions,” he said.
“Surely, in the face of these harsh economic realities, how then can you even think of taking away a roof for your neighbor. Let His Excellency the President who promised the Zambian people in 2014 that there is a much more humane way of dealing with these issues if confronted with such kind of challenges.”
Mr Kaunda lamented that “if this country is not safe for any of us, it can never be safe for all of us to live in.”
He wondered how government would claim they are a government for all Zambians yet some people are left in the cold.
“Let him come out and tell us what is it that has changed. The President in 2014 condemned these kind of acts. So what is it that has changed? Is it because now he has an aircon in his office that he has forgotten about the promises he made to the Zambian people?”
“Surely, if this country is not safe for any of us, it can never be safe for all of us to live in. If our neighbor has no shelter, how can we safely say it’s One Zambia One Nation? When other families are meant to spend a night in the cold and then you claim to be a government of the people. We feel that this government would have handled this matter in a much more humane way,” he said.