By PERPETUAL SICHIKWENKWE –
THE Zambia Cooperatives Federation (ZCF) has dragged the Swedish Cooperative Centre to court seeking an order that the centre removes a caveat it placed on its property in Kabulonga area in Lusaka.
ZCF has also asked the Lusaka High Court to order that the Swedish Cooperative Centre has no interest in its property at stand number 120, Kudu Road, to justify the placement of the caveat.
According to an affidavit filed by James Chirwa, thw ZCF managing director, on July 30, 1993 the Swedish Cooperative Centre first entered into a memorandum of agreement with the Zambian Government for development projects in the country.
The projects were to be implemented by an identified Zambian Government registered co-operative.
Being a registered cooperative, ZCF was identified by both the Swedish Cooperative Centre and Government and in February 1994, it entered into a separate agreement with the Swedish Cooperative Centre whose main purpose was to lay down procedures for the provision of support.
The agreement was termed as Cooperative Federation Programme (CDP) which was to be implemented by the ZCF services division.
Mr Chirwa said according to the agreement, all commodities, equipment and other assets made available under the agreement were to be for the specific utilisation of the end user, the ZCF.
He said during the implementation of the agreement, several assets, in particular the property in Kabulonga, were bought by the Swedish Cooperative Centre for use by ZCF.
The property was later put on title in the name of ZCF as for the specific utilisation of the end-user and not for the sole use and possession of the defendant.
Owing to the structural re-organisation and consequent financial constraints and hardships that ZCF was undergoing, an understanding was reached between the Swedish Cooperative and ZCF that a caveat should be registered on the ZCF’s property.
This was pending the intention to transfer the same to the Swedish Cooperative Centre in order to protect ZCF’s proprietorship from some executions of creditors.
However, the importance of the understanding of the parties was that the transfer was to be temporary until such a time when ZCF would be financially able and capable of taking control of its own affairs.
Mr Chirwa said that ZCF’s financial position and re-organisation had now improved, and that the intention for which the caveat was registered on the property had diminished but the Swedish Cooperative Centre had refused to remove the caveat.
He said the Swedish Cooperative Centre’s caveat on ZCF’s property on Kudu Road is no longer justifiable and should be removed.