Rush for land in Solwezi as council open sale of 267 plot to public

On Monday, many eager land seekers gathered at the Solwezi Civic Centre, hoping to grab one of the 267 commercial, medium, and high-cost residential plots that the Solwezi Municipal Council made available to the public.

The plots are being sold on a first-come, first-served basis, leading to long lines of residents excited to take part in this land buying opportunity.

Town Clerk Stanley Mbewe explained that this system aims to ensure transparency and prevent issues of double allocation that have affected similar sales in the past.

“We want to make sure everything is fair and give everyone a chance while helping Solwezi grow through land empowerment,” Mr. Mbewe stated, adding that Solwezi’s key role as a mining center requires careful and inclusive city planning.

However, not every resident was happy with the manual process. Henry Chiyaba, one of the applicants, suggested that the Council should think about digitizing the land allocation system to make it easier to access and to lessen the crowding at civic offices.

On the other hand, Derrick Hamamba, another potential land buyer, praised the pricing of the plots, calling it affordable since the sites are already equipped with services.