By ALICE NACHILEMBE
Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources Commissioner of Lands George Sindila says government is commitment to ensure that Zambians in the Diaspora own and benefit from Land.
And Property Lawyer and Founder of Diaspora Connect Natasha Chiumya has urged Zambians in the diaspora to engage professionals whenever they want to purchase property in Zambia to safeguard their property.
During a virtual Zoom meeting organized by ‘Zambians Together’ in partnership with the Zambian High Commission in London and the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources under the theme, “acquisition of Land in Zambia”, the Commissioner of Lands discussed among other things how Zambians in the Diaspora can acquire traditional or state land and how title deeds are processed.
Mr Sindila said the government recognizes the value that Diaspora populations bring in its development agenda.
“Every Zambian has the right to own land and the Ministry of Lands working with other Ministries like Foreign Affairs, Local Government and Commerce, want to positively enhance and support opportunities to the diaspora so that they can own land that can be used for investment or build properties. We want our Zambian Diaspora Community to invest in land in Zambia, thereby contributing to long term local and national economic investments,” he said.
He said to ‘tap diasporic wealth’ more broadly, the government is encouraging Zambians abroad to acquire land and invest in their country, so that they contribute to the growth of the country.
Mr Sindila said Diaspora members perform a key development role as major direct investors in critical and emerging industries and first movers in the growth of important sectors and in the development of human capital.
Ms Chiumya said to avoid pitfalls, Zambians in the Diaspora should make sure that they deal with credible vendors or developers with a track record because they were few scams with unscrupulous people.
She also advised Zambians abroad to proceed with caution when buying customary land “Customary or traditional land looks like a great bargain.
This was contained in a statement issued by Abigail Chaponda First Secretary Press and Public Relations Zambia High Commission in the United Kingdom.
