Lands and Natural Resources Minister Sylvia Masebo has refuted media reports that the Forest 27 Reserve in Lusaka East has been made available for purchase by the government.
In an official statement issued today, Masebo said the government had neither sold nor leased out any land or property in Forest 27 contrary to recent media reports that may mislead the public.
“The Ministry implores the public and stakeholders to disregard any unfounded claims and should rely on accurate information from official channels such as the Ministry of Lands to avoid misleading reports designed to create unnecessary alarm and also incite the public and unsuspecting stakeholders to begin to pay for land in Forest 27 which is not available,” Masebo told the press.
Masebo also revealed that her Ministry had begun conducting physical inspections on land with impending issues around Lusaka to clear out all unresolved wrangles.
“I also wanted to inform the public that going forward and after being in office for three months now, I have taken time to study the issues within the ministry and now we are going on the ground after having done enough work on the desk to understand the issues that we are now going to start addressing,” she said.
The minister said the exercise will extend to other parts of the country as the ministry aims to live up to its mandate of ensuring proper administration of land and natural resources.
“We are determined to resolve the many outstanding conflict issues. From Lusaka, we shall move to the Copperbelt Province and then move to the next province according to work that is pending in the office,” she said.
Masebo was reacting to an article published in the Daily Nation newspaper on November 18 alleging that the government would not re-gazette the controversial and infamous Forest 27 land and that the properties built in the area shall not be repossessed or demolished.
