Tatoa chairperson Angelina Ngalula said more than 400 Tanzanian drivers and their turn boys are also allegedly held in Zambia.
Ms Ngalula told reporters in Dar es Salaam yesterday that the Zambian authorities believe the logs are from the Southern Africa country, and not from the DR Congo.
In February, Zambia banned the export of logs to curb deforestation.
However, Tatoa claims the logs were in transit to the Dar es Salaam Port from the DRC. Ms Ngalula claimed the drivers had all documents to prove that the logs were from the DRC.
The Tatoa official said more trucks were stranded in the DRC as drivers were afraid to cross the Zambian border.
“The truck drivers fulfilled all customs procedures and they were allowed to cross the DRC-Zambia border, but they were later arrested in Zambia,” said Ms Ngalula. Most of the trucks were seized at the Nakonde border, Ms Ngalula said.
Tatoa managing director Rahim Dossa said they had already notified the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation about it. But when reached for comment, the ministry’s spokesperson Mindi Kasiga said she wasn’t aware of the Tatoa letter.
She referred this reporter to the Tanzanian High Commissioner to Zambia. Efforts to contact the High Commissioner failed as the call was not answered. However, one official at the ministry, who preferred anonymity, confirmed the ministry had received Tatoa complaints.
The source told The Citizen that the government has since written to the Tanzanian embassy in Lusaka.
Twakula onta mukula nge nkuni…kikikikiki
That Tanzania used to have a president called John Mangufuli, where is here? We told you…
If weed is illegal in the Netherlands am I allowed to transport it there from Zambia where it is illegal?
Ba PF please don’t waste too much time on those logs cos even if you confiscated them or re-plant them, they will never grow nor be useful to the country anymore. The best is to ask the owners of those logs to pay a fee; a fee huge enough for them never to come back for more ever again…
Zambia being a landlocked country is playing a dangerous game banning from our roads cargo that belong to a friendly neighbor whose port is our lifeline. Imagine for once Tanzania banning Zambian Dot Com cars simply because such cars are not allowed in TZ to protect that country’s motor industry! That would be a hostile action to take. So as the scripture goes: Do unto others as you would have them do to you. Let the logs proceed if indeed they hail from DRC. It is not TZ’s problem that some corrupt govt agents have taken advantage of the transiting TZ logs and are smuggling out Zambian logs as well. We just have to deal with our corruption. Why have we lately become so accustomed to side-stepping real issues by making simplistic solutions? Tichinje.
So there is no way of telling that these goods are in transit.
@Chipasha, all transiting cargo is sealed, locked and tracked through GPS by ZRA.
Tricky how logs from DRC can be stuck in Nakonde.
kekekekeke…yakosa..anything pa Zed its pf police..
@Chipata, DRC also uses Port of Dar to import or export cargo to towns of Lubumbashi, Likasi, Kolowesi, etc, and Zambia’s borders of Kasumbalesa and Nakonde act as transiting ports. So it is that logs from that part of DRC would arrive in Nakonde. As to being stuck in Nakoz – the logs are marooned because our Kafulumende (govt) has for some reason ordered that they be detained. Get it?
Naumfwa. Thank you. Nomba wisamwa sana. lol
Chalo you don’t know what you’re talking,which motor industry Tanzania has to protect? They also depend on cars from Japan they don’t manufacture vechcles in Tanzania for your information, us here we options some vechcles we use Walvis bay and mukula logs is an illegal business,cars from Japan are not illegal,so when commenting have data cause you’re exposing your dull,your brain and your mouth can’t coordinate next research. Zikomo
@Wamubyima, you’re spot on. It was an example. Apologies that I lost it in translating from my mother tongue. Really sorry for the apparent misrepresentation of facts. But I hope you understand.
@Wamunyima, a quick one: Is Mukula illegal in TZ too? My point is – if Mukula is legal in TZ, let’s not extend our illegality to TZ where its trade is allowed. Get it, boss? By the way, I have always known Lozis to be Royal (ba ulemu) because they are the only grouping in Zambia with a king and not a chief. So where do you borrow that disrespect for elders from? Leave the insults to us natural insultants, bembas and easterners. You can emulate anything from us ba nyuku nyuku, but insults should not be one of them. Zikomo.
Why have they been seized in spite of abiding to the custom regulations?
I’m very disappointed with these people saying thy hv impounded some Tanzanian track carrying the mukula logs.The most important thing we want to know is who are th owner of those truks??; and the owners of the maize & meal mealie truks impounded smuggling these items.Bring them to book.y covering thm???? Is there corruption going on with them???..yes we heard about lmpounding but we haven’t heard about the culprits.
This is a set up. SI was issued and 3 days later trucks impounded. LT reported all paperwork approved at border into zambia then impounded on trying to leave. Logs will be forfeited to state sold by state and money into zambias pockets.
If tanzania retaliates by banning transport in zambia we are stuck
What is going to happen is that the masquerade GRZ will export the mukula and earn the hard earned forex on behalf of the owners of the commodity who will receive nothing in return and the trucks will be seized and shared by the individual masquerades as benefits for their provocative perceived good work which will eventually provoke hostility toward any importation of Zambian goods via the port crude oil inclusive and all the Dot Coms will be subjected to highway attacks and robberies to recover the mukula and trucks loss, then we will see who will cry and laugh the more.
I have official export license of mukula in congo and we pay officially to every department then goods goes to kasumbalesa border and zambian custom inspect the goods and charge us 200$ which we get official receipt from custom of zambia if zambian suspected the goods is belong to zambia i think they have right to inspect the goods and verify the documents but they must not stop the trucks for months it seems they dont trust on their own staff at kasumbalesa border