Cancel certificates of title on forest 27 land, demands GEARS
GOVERNANCE, Elections, Advocacy and Research Services (GEARS) has demanded the immediate cancellation of all certificates of title issued to individuals on forest 27 land in Lusaka province.
GEARS Exercutive director McDonald Chipenzi said in a statement to the Daily Nation that his organization was concerned with the controversies surrounding the demarcation of parts of the protected Forest.
He said Government must halt all construction including roads currently going on because they are damaging the very sensitive and strategic ecosystem and headwaters of Chalimbana River on which thousands of people in the area depend.
He called on traditional leadership, environmentalists and academia to take keen interest in the matter and help protect ecological system for present and future generations.
Mr. Chipenzi stressed that the silence on the matter from the Ministry of Lands and the Department of Forestry in particular is very disappointing adding that the Forest should not have been de-gazetted.
He said Government and the relevant authorities must know that the land in question is the forest which forms the headwaters of Chalimbana River front which flows into Chongwe River.
"In the face of climate change affecting Zambia as evidenced during 2017/2018 farming season and if the forest is disturbed in any way, Chongwe and Chalimbana Rivera will dry up and cause irreparable consequences as agriculture will be compromised," he said.
He said Government must investigate how the forest was degazeted and a full public disclosure of the beneficiaries.