OVER 2 000 HOMES LOSE LAND FOR E2BN PROJECT

MBABANE – In its first phase, LUSIP transformed 20 000 lives for the better and it is projected to transform about 19 000 more lives but against this backdrop, there are some individuals who appear hell-bent to halt the over E2 billion project.

LUSIP is an acronym for Lower Usuthu Smallholder Irrigation Project. The bone of contention is that some residents from KaNgcamphalala under Chief Mshikashika do not want to give away their land for the implementation of the project which is now being reposed.

As a result, they are now up in arms with their chief. The Times SUNDAY has learnt through its well placed sources that about 2 000 homesteads of KaNgcamphalala are against the repossession of the land.
Some of the affected families are vowing to do all within their powers to halt the project through refusing to give back their land to their chief who is already repossessing it in preparation for the project implementation.

They are arguing that government misled the funders when soliciting the loans by saying there was readily available land. The availability of land was a key condition for the loans to be released. In a report that the Times SUNDAY has seen, it was mentioned that land was readily available or achieved.

Some of the project funders include the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA), the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA), the European Union (EU), the European Investment Bank (EIB), and International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the Government of Swaziland.

Post your comment

Your name:

Your e-mail address:

Add your comments:

Please enter the code you see in the image:

Image:

Code: