Africa-Press – Malawi. Deputy Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Abida Mia, has assured Malawi Housing Corporation (MHC) tenants at Ngumbe in Blantyre that no one will be evicted from the houses, which sit on privately-owned land.
Mia visited the tenants this morning where she assured that the government would initiate action and bilateral mediations with the family that owns the land.
MHC constructed 65 two-bedroom semi-detached houses, which MHC built on freehold farming land belonging to the family of Costas and Samantha Scordis. In 2018, the Scordis dragged the corporation to court, but with the case still in court, MHC allocated the houses to tenants.
This prompted the Scordis family to obtain an order to evict the tenants where the MHC built 65 houses after obtaining a K3.5 billion loan. On Friday afternoon, police and the family’s lawyers invaded Ngumbe to evict families from the houses. The families were ordered to leave the houses by Saturday.
Among others, the Scordis family is demanding the resource-constrained corporation and its agents to remove any structures built on the 53 hectares piece of land; and that, if the corporation does not remove them by itself, the Scordis would demolish and remove all such structures at the cost of the MHC.
The family’s lawyer Kuleza Phokoso said MHC proceeded to build the houses on the land despite a dispute over the 53 hectares piece of land. But when she visited the tenants this morning, Mia assured the tenants that no one is vacating the houses.
She said the government is paying full attention to issue and is working towards resolving the matter with the Scordis family. The matter dates back to 2018.
