By Mercy Matonga:
An investigation into land administration has revealed that ministers, senior government officials and other politically connected individuals under successive administrations benefited from land acquired outside established procedures, the Ministry of Lands has said.
Minister of Lands Chimwemwe Chipungu disclosed the findings Wednesday at a press briefing in Lilongwe, where he presented the results of investigations conducted by the ministry as part of efforts to improve land administration.
Chipungu said the audit had identified weaknesses requiring urgent attention to make land administration more efficient, transparent and accountable.
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According to the audit report, some of the problems stem from outdated land records, with cadastral layout maps dating back to 2016 and failing to capture subsequent changes to land parcels.
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“The cadastral layout maps date back to 2016; as such, the infill plots, subdivisions, extensions and amalgamations created and allocated in subsequent years are not reflected. Their records remain fragmented in survey drawings and index documents,” the report reads.
Asked whether government ministers were among those who acquired land illegally or irregularly, Chipungu said the findings implicated people serving in government as well as individuals associated with previous administrations.
He said the names would be published in newspapers once the process reaches the disclosure stage and that legal action would be taken against those found to have breached the law.
Centre for Social Accountability and Transparency executive director Willy Kambwandira said the findings were not surprising.
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“Malawi does not primarily suffer from a shortage of laws; it suffers from a dangerous shortage of political will to enforce them without fear or favour,” he said.
Kambwandira said the audit should not become another report gathering dust and called for the publication of names, recovery of illegally acquired land and prosecution of those responsible regardless of their political status.
Governance commentator Blessings Mbendera said the reported land grabbing across different political periods was worrying. “Political power is strongly abused, igniting land access inequalities in the country. Though these cases are exposed, little is done to address them, a clear illustration of deep-rooted impunity and how weak our land governance is,” Mbendera said.
