Lilongwe City Council (LCC) in collaboration with the Ministry of Lands have demolished structures on a piece of land purportedly owned by Wadi Associates at Area 46 in Lilongwe City.
The action is part of the Ministry of Lands efforts to bring orderly development in Malawi by ensuring compliance with the land related laws in the country.
In an Interview with Malawi News Agency (MANA), Ministry of Lands Deputy Director of Legal Services, Yohane Dzowa, stated that Wadi Associates breached provisions of the Land Act, Physical Planning Act and Registered Land Act hence the demolition.
He said Wadi Associates contravened section 9B of the Land Act by selling vacant leasehold. They sold undeveloped land against the spirit of the Land Act and violated section 37 of the Land Act by selling the undeveloped land to a person who is not a Malawian.
They also developed a fence without development permission from the Planning Authority, LCC, which did not approve the development as it was illegal.
“This is against section 54 of the Physical Planning Act. So, LCC and the Ministry demolished an illegal development which is not a development within the definition of the Physical Planning Act.
As the Registered Land Act under Section 24 provides that ownership is conferred by registration which needs to be supported with genuine grants permission and relevant proof of payment.
According to Dzowa, the Ministry established that ownership of the plot is marred with forged documentation as such they relied on a title which is tainted with fake and forged documentation.
He emphasised that the company’s development activities have violated the country’s land laws and constituted an offence against Section 20 of the Land Act.
According to the Land Act, individuals who use or occupy public land without being entitled to such usage commit an offence.
Dzowa, therefore, warned all people to desist from this tendency as the Ministry will continue efforts to prevent individuals from occupying or developing public land without being entitled to such use and development.
“The exercise has trickled to all other cities and districts to ensure that land is put to the optimum use in an orderly manner. Any chaotic and unplanned development will not be condoned by the Ministry and the Planning Authorities in Malawi,” he said.
LCC Deputy Director of Planning and Development, Hilary Kamera, stated that the development of the city is based on a specific plan that must be followed.
He said there are several steps outlined according to the Physical Planning Act, which is the law governing development throughout the country.
The primary purpose of the law is to ensure that land is utilized properly and that the city is developed in an orderly manner.
“To achieve this, developers are required to adhere to a set of guidelines aimed at fostering attractive and organized urban development.
“Interestingly, the requirements for developers are quite minimal. Often, those who engage in illegal development have already completed many of the necessary steps, such as creating their plans,” he said.
However, he indicated that one of the risks associated with non-compliance is that developers end up losing significant investments.
He appealed to developers to submit their plans to ensure they align with the city’s development objectives.
“If we reach the point of demolition, it means developers have disregarded all issued notices. In such cases, we are left with no choice but to proceed with demolition,” he said.
Human Rights and Governance Advocate, Undule Mwakasungula, stated that the move will help bring sanity in the land sector stating that there has been a lot of complaints on how Ministry of Lands has been making its dealings previously.
“I concur with the action taken by the Ministry of Lands because we need to protect our land by making sure that we follow proper procedures. That’s a good move and I support it,” said Mwakasungula.
