Beware of fake surveyors, or risk encroachment – Lands Ministry

A senior land surveyor at the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources has observed the increase in fake surveyors, warning members of the public to scrutinize the credentials before undertaking services.

Speaking in an interview with the Zambian Business Times—ZBT, Colonel Charles Mulenga revealed that most of the people masquerading as surveyors were once handymen, and they lack expert knowledge of surveying.

“There are a lot of people that are masquerading as surveyors; these are people that we train as handymen, and the clients end up thinking they are surveyors. Most of the time, they end up scamming the clients and doing shoddy work,” he added.

Meanwhile, Colonel Mulenga called on developers to do due diligence before buying land and acquire the services of a surveyor, because it is difficult to tell the exact location of land without expert knowledge.

“People buy land based on the copy of the title deed. Someone who is not a surveyor—it’s difficult to know the geographical location of a place. Someone can point to a piece of land and sell it, but the location could be elsewhere, and this is where, before you do anything, you get a surveyor to point out the geographical location of that land,” he added.