Minister of Lands, Chimwemwe Chipungu has called for a nationwide land audit aimed at addressing challenges related to illegal land acquisition and corruption.
Chipungu made the remarks on Tuesday in Lilongwe, emphasizing that while Malawians have the right to acquire land, the process must be followed procedurally in order to promote transparency and curb corruption that undermines land management laws.
He further warned individuals who have illegally acquired land to immediately cease such practices and return the land to its rightful owners, failure of which will result in arrests.
"We are trying to put it into a legal practice and put a balance in both sides as people must apply through the ministry legally,” said Chipungu.
Meanwhile, areas currently affected include Kanengo, Area 3 Market and Area 4 MBC near ADMARC in Lilongwe. The ministry has since issued a 14-day ultimatum for the issues to be resolved, warning that the law will take its course if the directive is ignored.
In her remarks, Acting Director of Corruption Prevention at the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), Susan Mtuwa Phiri, said efforts are underway to combat corruption, underscoring the need to proactively implement lifestyle audits meant to address the challenges.
"We have so many strategies as we are implementing a national anti-corruption strategy 2 which it is holistic and involves everyone through multiple channels. With regards to lifestyle audit we have the manual that awaits cabinet approval aimed at bringing together all law enforcement agencies to work together proactively,” said Mtuwa Phiri.
The meeting attracted various stakeholders, including the Minister of Information and Digitalisation, Shadrick Namalomba; Minister of Homeland Security, Peter Mukhitho; and Minister of Local Government, Ben Phiri, among others.
