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THE Justice for Widows and Orphans Project (JWOP) has called for the amendment of the intestate succession Act of 1989 to protect widows and orphans from untold suffering in the wake of property grabbing after their benefactor dies.
JWOP board chairperson Mandi Manda said the amendment of the Act will facilitate ways of making adequate financial and other provisions for a surviving spouse, children, parents, dependants and other relatives of a person dies without leaving a will on how their property should be shared.
Ms Manda said the nation has witnessed a number of cases where women and children have been left homeless as a result of property grabbing.
“There is need for the Government to amend the intestate Act and strengthen the pieces of legislation that protects the plight of widows and orphans.
“We have had cases of women being victimised by their late husband’s relatives through property grabbing, land
disputes and misappropriation of resources because the law is not strong enough to protect them,” she said.
She was speaking at the media workshop held on at the weekend to review the draft application of the intestate amendment Act.
She has since implored the media to sensitise the public on the challenges that widows and orphans in Zambia are facing.
And project leader Felix Kunda said the organisation has partnered with the Finish government in promoting the lives of the widows and orphans.
Mr Kunda said Finland donates Euros 120 as support to the programme every year which is distributed to the 11 support groups around the country under JWOP.
He, however, said the money received is not enough to cater for all the vulnerable widows and orphans in Zambia and has since called on Government to help finance the project.
Mr Kunda said out of the 222 clients received in 2013 who inluded 48 males and 174 females, only 40 cases were resolved due to limited resources.
The cases received ranged from misapplication of estates, property grabbing, and widows in desperate situations, benefits, victimisation and land disputes.
He has appealed to all members of the community to report any cases of the listed vices to the police so that justice is received by all.
Meanwhile, Ms Manda has also expressed displeasure at the nude pictures that some sections of print media have continued to publish in their weekend editions.
