Katima blames Uutoni for delaying projets

Katima Mulilo chief executive Raphael Liswaniso says minister of urban and rural development Erastus Uutoni’s delays in project approvals are hampering the development of the town.

Liswaniso shared these sentiments with a parliamentary standing committee on public accounts and economy on Monday.

He said the town council has lost out on several investments that could have helped to service land, as the council has been waiting for Uutoni’s approval for years.

He said an investor applied for land in 2018, which Uutoni only approved this year.

“What do you think this investor will do now?” Liswaniso asked.

“Furthermore, if they service such land now, the cost will be high. We have made a proposal in the new act that some of the approval powers of the minister should be removed, because they affect development at local authorities.

“The minister has too much power, but does not have the capacity at the ministry to deal with all 57 local authorities,” he said.

Liswaniso suggested that these powers could be delegated to the “lowest person”.

He said delayed approval has led to a backlog in providing residents with plots.

Even when plots are approved, residents only receive their letters of approval after two years, Liswaniso said.

“We have sold the land opposite the regional council to an investor, but we cannot give penalties to them unless we apply to the minister to approve those penalties. In our deed of sale, it states if the investor does not start building after two years on the land, we will charge them three times the value of the property. “However, when we apply for the penalties, it will take up to a year to get an approval, while the council is losing revenue,” he said.

The chief executive said to address the town’s sewerage challenge, the council has entered into an agreement with one of its public-private partnership members to build a treatment plant to cater for 46 000 households.

It is, however, still awaiting the minister’s approval.

“We went to the minister and presented this whole project to him. The project was supposed to start in October. We have followed up with his office, but we have not received any response,” he said.

Uutoni yesterday said local authorities have various powers that were decentralised to them to provide the necessary housing and services to the masses, as well as to sell surveyed land.

“The same law also made provision for checks and balances to check whether the other hand is handling everything in accordance with the law or not.

“For instance: If a local authority happens to borrow money beyond its limited income capacity and many other things related, that will be a challenge to that particular local authority, as well as to the central government to pay back the loan – hence the minister’s involvement,” he said.

The minister did not respond to questions on the delayed approval of projects.