The Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development has resolved its third major land dispute in three months after handing over residential and agricultural land parcels to 132 displaced households at Nthunduwala-Zithe Farm in Kasungu on Wednesday.
The development follows similar interventions at Kasasile in Nkhata Bay and Nantipwiri in Thyolo, highlighting the Ministry’s ongoing efforts to address land disputes and facilitate access to land for affected communities.
Speaking during the handover ceremony, Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Chimwemwe Chipungu, said the allocation would give the affected families an opportunity to rebuild their lives and restore their livelihoods.
“Today’s exercise is not merely about allocating land parcels. It is also about creating an opportunity for the affected families to rebuild their lives, restore their livelihoods and establish a foundation for a more secure future,” said Chipungu.
He said the Ministry had completed the vetting of a register containing 132 beneficiary households, with each household assigned specific residential and agricultural plot numbers to ensure an orderly and transparent allocation process.
Chipungu urged the beneficiaries to respect the boundaries of their allocated plots and use the land for its intended purposes, stressing that transparency, accountability and fairness would guide the exercise.
The Minister also called on traditional leaders, Kasungu District Council and surrounding communities to support the resettlement process and promote peaceful coexistence.
The Ministry’s technical team is expected to continue allocating land to the remaining beneficiaries following the symbolic handover of the first five parcels at the ceremony.
Chairperson for the Camp Stanley Lyson said the affected families had lived in dire conditions for more than 13 years, without adequate land for farming or building houses.
"This is a great for us, we have struggled for many years, we were hopeless our families were displaced, we had perpetual hunger because we did not have farming land, we thank the Government for listening to our cries and settling us," he said.
The handover at Nthunduwala-Zithe Farm is the Ministry’s third major intervention to resolve land disputes and support displaced families, following similar exercises at Kasasile in Nkhata Bay and Nantipwiri in Thyolo.
