Zambian demolitions begin

LUSAKA – Workers under police guard have begun demolishing illegally built shacks in Zambia as part of what authorities are calling a campaign to clamp down on lawlessness.

The demolitions, which began Saturday, have drawn comparisons to the destruction of dwellings and the eviction of street traders in neighbouring Zimbabwe in 2005, which left more than 700 000 people homeless. Zambia’s government has dismissed the comparisons and characterised its actions as an attempt to enforce laws and stop squatters from building illegally on state land and other plots that do not belong to them.The first demolitions took place in the township Kalikiliki.Around 400 workers under the protection of anti-riot police destroyed more than 100 buildings, said Chanda Makanta, a spokeswoman for Lusaka City Council.None of the shacks was occupied and police met no resistance, she said Sunday.An undisclosed number of illegal structures built under electricity pylons and on top of water pipes were also destroyed in the remote town of Solwezi, 700 kilometres northwest of the capital, Lusaka, officials said.Apart from destroying illegal structures, Lusaka City Council is also targetting vendors who have partially closed public roads in some parts of the capital.”As a council we will not allow lawlessness to prevail just because human rights activists defend wrongdoers,” Makanta said.Zambia’s information minister, Vernon Mwaanga, announced on Wednesday that President Levy Mwanawasa’s Cabinet had endorsed the program to raze illegal structures.He said the government would “use whatever means necessary to enforce and uphold the law.”Mwaanga did not mention any compensation for the victims of the demolitions.The demolitions have been received with mixed reactions.Some have condemned the government for destroying homes in the middle of the rainy season.Nampa-APZambia’s government has dismissed the comparisons and characterised its actions as an attempt to enforce laws and stop squatters from building illegally on state land and other plots that do not belong to them.The first demolitions took place in the township Kalikiliki.Around 400 workers under the protection of anti-riot police destroyed more than 100 buildings, said Chanda Makanta, a spokeswoman for Lusaka City Council.None of the shacks was occupied and police met no resistance, she said Sunday.An undisclosed number of illegal structures built under electricity pylons and on top of water pipes were also destroyed in the remote town of Solwezi, 700 kilometres northwest of the capital, Lusaka, officials said.Apart from destroying illegal structures, Lusaka City Council is also targetting vendors who have partially closed public roads in some parts of the capital.”As a council we will not allow lawlessness to prevail just because human rights activists defend wrongdoers,” Makanta said.Zambia’s information minister, Vernon Mwaanga, announced on Wednesday that President Levy Mwanawasa’s Cabinet had endorsed the program to raze illegal structures.He said the government would “use whatever means necessary to enforce and uphold the law.”Mwaanga did not mention any compensation for the victims of the demolitions.The demolitions have been received with mixed reactions.Some have condemned the government for destroying homes in the middle of the rainy season.Nampa-AP