Why is National Titling Agency failing to meet land title deeds target?

Recently, the National Title Land Agency – […]

Recently, the National Title Land Agency – NTLA revealed that 116,000 offer letters have been issued but payments for title deeds are yet to be cleared.

Land Expert and Researcher Dr. Priscilla Nsama says the blame falls squarely on the lack of adequate sensitization to members of the public. She argued that it’s obvious the owners of the offer letters lack the resources but said the NLTA also has a role to play in emphasizing on the importance of the matter. Dr. Nsama added that there is a need for the agency to start publicizing the names of the would-be title deed owners.

“The NLTA should organize it in such a way that they publicize the names of the owners of the offer letters and generally, some people don’t even know, especially that most people don’t have TV, they should utilize other media to reach out to people across the country.” she said.

 Dr. Nsama also observed that most people are failing to pay for title deeds because of the lack of funds. Citing the volatile economic conditions, despite the decrease of inflation to 6.5 percent, the impact is yet to be felt on the micro level.

 NLTA was established to fix a backlog of untitled properties, reduce land disputes, and secure legal ownership for citizens. Zambia has an estimated 1.2 million numbered properties nationwide, but only 450,000 registered for title deeds, a situation that has raised concerns with stakeholders in the housing space including the Zambia Land Alliance

Article by Samuel Mutale