Asian in Malawi accused of grabbing land and residential plots

A scam has been unearthed in Lilongwe where Asians of Malawian origin have are grabbing land and residential plots from the local people to establish their companies.

The scourge is said to be rife in Lilongwe with Zahid Faruk Sattar of Pioneer Real Estate, who is also the owner for Glassco, is building on local people’s plots with impunity.

Many land deals which he is involved are being negotiated without transparency and local consultation with help of a Mr Mangani the controlling officer in the Ministry of Land and his assistant a Mr Selemani.

Whistle-blowers have said Zahid Frauk has been helped with “fake” papers and then land officials “blackmails” actual owners of the plots to say they no longer own the land then he mediates the two parties into an agreement making a payment to the actual owner and the new owner benefits.

Law enforcing agencies are said to be informed about a number of transactions but investigations have been hampered due to corruption.

And Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) are also keeping an eye on the Asian businessman who has build  a state- of-art new mansion in the prime area of Lilongwe worth about K600 million.

He sold his previous home in Area 2 in Lilongwe for K500 million.

In another reported incident, Zahid Frauk  created fake documents selling off a property in Area 9 of Lilongwe belonging to Mr Jussab a  deceased and the original documents are with the deceased’s sister in Bolton, England.

The fake documents are said to have been made with the help of Mangani and had the property sold.

Another scam involves a  land sold near Likuni round about which is belived to have been part of the ‘land grab’.

Ministry of Land officials could not deny or confirm the scam, but said not every deal is a “land grab” – much depends on the terms of the lease and whether these reflect the consent of local landholders when buying.

But for local people, the context in which the deals are being concluded tends to make negative outcomes  with Asians using money power.

Meanwhile, Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Charles Msosa has said the development of the Customary Land Act is essential for the economic development of the country,

“The act will reduce the burden most traditional leaders had in the country in settling land issues on customary land. The act will act as a guideline to the management of land issues in the country,” Msosa explained.

Land is an extremely contentious issue in Malawi and many of the country’s political elite are themselves profiting from land-seizures.