By CHALIAFYA Katungula

Forests support incredible biodiversity and natural resources, these are the homes of many indigenous peoples, and provide livelihoods for millions of people. Unfortunately, our forests are disappearing rapidly. Forests have been destroyed by exploitation for timber, for agriculture, mining and urban growth. Much of this destruction is caused by illegal logging, trees are being cut down and their timber processed used in the country or exported, without legal processes being followed. Though there is a legitimate timber industry it is this illegal logging that is most damaging.

From a professional forestry perspective, we normally say don’t exploit a resource for which you have no inventory to determine stocking in a potential concession area, we do not know how much Mukula is in the forest, how then do we go ahead and continue harvesting the same? You can only manage if you know the numbers of what you are dealing with thus if you have no basic information then you basically cannot attain management of any particular resource.

The issue of unsustainable logging and Mukula trading makes sad reading in this country because we know that the Government is and has been under pressure from timber traders in pushing for the ban on Mukula to be lifted. They usually amplify the revenues which the Government loses by keeping the ban on while disregarding the conservation aspect.

Well as professionals our stance is based on the conservation balance sheet and thus the logging or trading of this resource should be discontinued until we undertake a comprehensive inventory of the resources in the forests. Can the merchants tell us how many trees of Mukula they have replanted or replaced in their course of business in let’s say the last ten years? If you want to trade in Mukula, grow your own!! In fact the timber traders should take advantage of the provision in the Forestry Act No. 4 of 2015 to set up private forests or stands of Mukula. We stand with the Government and would like to urge the authorities to maintain the ban on Mukula harvesting and trade.

Specifically, we support the stance taken by the honourable Minister of Lands and Natural Resources in January 2021 where she assured the nation that the ban on Mukula will not be lifted and encouraged traders to explore other lesser known species. However, on 12 th March 2021, an advertisement was released by the Zambia Forest and Forest Industries Cooperation (ZAFFICO) announcing that it has been mandated by Government to purchase legally harvested Mukula logs from licensed concession holders and holders of felling permits. Further, the Corporation stated that it has been mandated to sale the said logs to entities legally engaged in value addition to the Mukula logs within the country as well as exporting to international markets.

However, ZAFFICO is offside!! There is inconsistency and deviation from what the right honourable Minister of Lands and natural resources pronounced earlier on in January this year. We strongly feel the ban was in good faith but the action by ZAFFICO will not help our conservation efforts or the conflict that this trade brings. ZAFFICO should thus halt the current purchase of Mukula which they have embarked on countrywide, we have no capacity to prevent what they term legally harvested Mukula from comingling with illegally harvested Mukula.

Questions that need to be addressed with regard to the issue of Mukula are as follows;- Have we filled the forestry department establishment in terns of personnel to monitor logging or this trade? Has funding to aid operations of the department improved so as to address the challenge that this issue brings? This trade does not just cause environmental damage, but deprives our Country of millions in lost revenue, causes loss of livelihoods to forest dwelling communities, and leads to other criminal activities. It also undermines the rule of law, giving people less faith and willingness to support Government which fails them in curbing such activities

It has come to our attention as concerned forestry professionals that some unscrupulous people and authorities have continued to illegally export Mukula despite the ban. The aforementioned have taken advantage and abuse the transit deal between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia to export Mukula logs using the Nakonde border and other exist points.

All along Mukula from Luapula province and other parts of the country has been exiting the country using this scheme despite the ban. The harvesting of Mukula had and has continued being done in SECRECY and logs harvested locally were being comingled with those in transitfrom Congo DR. The fact of the matter is that there is possible corruption and a fraudulent scheme where documentation is generated showing that a certain number of trucks will pass through Zambia for example 45 trucks but in actual fact the number of trucks loaded from Congo DR may be 30 or 35 leaving the remainder to be comingled with Mukula that has been illegally harvested from Zambia. Clearly, such manoeuvres and schemes involve a few individuals and in most cases, ones that are highly connected.

Indeed, Corruption seems to be the main driver of illegal logging. You must note that raw or processed timber is not easily hidden, that sawmills and chainsaws need fuel and electricity, that the timber has to be transported by roads and across borders in ships. The illegal timber industry can thus only operate with the connivance of a large number of people. Without corruption to lubricate the way, illegal timber would not flow.

Going forward, we feel that pronouncing a ban on Mukula without backing of a comprehensive statutory instrument is not enough. There should always be a legal apparatus, guidelines and strategies developed to holistically address this challenge so as to reinforce the ban on Mukula. We note that the ban that had been put in place in the past and in 2017 to be specific had some loopholes, while the Forestry Department had suspended the issuance of concession licences; the aspect of concession license renewal was neglected and never addressed. This meant that the ban had merely targeted new entrants while the old concession license holders had leeway to renew their licenses upon expiry and continue operations.

We admit that in the past, forestry challenges particularly on Mukula have primarily bordered between the Government, Forestry Department and the Timber traders. The aspect of private foresters or those that are engaged in other areas has been absent. It is for this reason that we have taken an initiative to organise ourselves as forestry professionals to advocate and come up with pragmatic professional solutions and participate in the control and prevention of unsustainable timber exploitation and forestry practices. We shall thus support Government to come up with strategies on how to control and better regulate timber logging!!

We stand on the side of the conservation and believe that we should preserve this endangered species for future generations and for biodiversity purposes. We shall visit our honourable Minister of Lands and Natural Resources so that our perspective can be appreciated in public interest. In the meantime, we earnestly appeal to the Government of the Republic of Zambia to halt the purchase of Mukula until they put in place measures and modalities to support sustainable natural resource management and in this particular matter Mukula

The Author is an Advocate General for Forestry Advocacy For Communication Transparency, Accountability And Research -F(A+C+T+A+R)

The Law Association of Zambia (LAZ) has expressed grave concern over the increased incidents of the Police detaining suspects of bailable offences beyond the 24 hours stipulated in our Criminal Laws.

In a statement released to the media and signed by Honorary Secretary Sokwani Peter Chiembo, LAZ said that while Section 33 of the Criminal Procedure Code, Chapter 88 of the Laws of Zambia permits detentions for a period of only up to 24 hours, after the lapse of 24 hours, the Police are mandated to take the suspect before the appropriate Court or release the suspect on bond.

Lately, a number of opposition members have been detailed beyond the 24 hours limit without charge with the latest being United Party for National Development (UPND) Presidential Aide Mubita Nawa who got released today after spending more days than mandated by the law in detention without charge.

Below is the full LAZ statement

PRESS RELEASE BY THE LAW ASSOCIATION OF ZAMBIA LAZ IS CONCERNED AT INCREASED INCIDENCES OF POLICE DETAINING SUSPECTS OF BAILABLE OFFENCES BEYOND THE STIPULATED 24 HOURS

(FOR IMMEDIATE CIRCULATION TO MEDIA HOUSES)

The Law Association of Zambia (LAZ) has noted, with grave concern, increased incidents of the Police detaining suspects of bailable offences beyond the 24 hours stipulated in our Criminal Laws.

Whilst our Laws permit the Police to take into custody a suspect, Section 33 of the Criminal Procedure Code, Chapter 88 of the Laws of Zambia permits such detentions for a period of only up to 24 hours.

After the lapse of 24 hours, the Police are mandated to take the suspect before the appropriate Court or release the suspect on bond. The Courts of Law have been categorical in holding that the Police can only arrest for offences, and has no power to arrest persons for the purposes of making inquiries. Therefore, detentions for enquiries and beyond the stipulated 24 hours are an infringement of a person’s freedom of movement guaranteed by Article 22 of the Constitution of Zambia.

In a country founded on and which thrives on the Rule of Law, of which LAZ is mandated to promote by its founding statute, wanton disregard of the Law by anyone must not be condoned.

The Rule of Law demands that every person, including the Police, must discharge their functions within the confines of the Law. In our democratic society anchored on Constitutionalism, no one is above the Law.

LAZ is of the further view that such detentions by the Police, especially on politically inclined accusations, have the potential to contribute to a negative atmosphere which should be discouraged as we go towards the 2021 General and Presidential Elections.

It is in the interest of the country for every stakeholder to play their role to contribute to peace before, during and after Elections.

LAZ has since written to the Inspector General of Police to ensure that the situation is quickly redressed.

Dated this 21 st day of May, 2021.
________________________________
Sokwani Peter Chilembo HONORARY SECRETARY

By Fred M’membe President of the Socialist Party

Elections in Zambia – like everywhere – are a very special tradition, because they are driven by you. They’re an opportunity to change your future. If you think about it, the Electoral Commission of Zambia doesn’t do much. It publishes the election timetable, sets up polling stations, and prints the ballot papers. Everything else is done by you. The Electoral Commission of Zambia might set up the stage, but it is you who writes the script and plays the central part. The story is yours.

And every person can make a difference in an election.

A vote for the Socialist Party is a vote for those who want to engage in an honest conversation about the way the country is headed and are prepared to stand-up and be counted for doing the right thing.

A vote for the Socialist Party is a vote for a Zambia where the next generation can make a difference in their own lives and the lives of those they care about, not be fodder for politicians and their schemes of deception, manipulation and abuse. I say to you, the Socialist Party is your voice of a generation.

A vote for the Socialist Party is a vote for those small business owners who know more about the real economy than any economist. To be able to create a product customers want to buy at a price they can afford, and jobs along the way. I say to you, the Socialist Party is your voice too. And yes, a vote for the Socialist Party is a vote for a genuine chance to jump-start the economy.

We can create a government that is efficient, effective and orderly, as well as delivering the essential services that people depend upon – free and socialised education and health services, water and sanitation, and so on and so forth.

PF and UPND have both recently released their manifestos. Nobody can tell the difference. They want a rendition of the same old show of 2015 and 2016. PF vs UPND. But if their policies are the same there will be no policy debate about the future of our country. Don’t let them get away with it. I say to you that it can be different. But it can only change, if we show the courage of our convictions and choose to change – real change, revolutionary change.

So yes, the opportunity is for the Socialist Party at this election. The Socialist Party can win this election for the poor, for Zambia. It takes real courage to make real changes in your life.

Young people are coming to the Socialist Party, because they see a party that truly listens to them and has more of them to stand as councillors and members of parliament than any other party. A party that is prepared to break the mould. And a party that is committed to ensuring that there’s real change – revolutionary change, not just any change.

You can really change your future. So, now the stage is set and the election campaign begins in earnest. What you do now really matters. I will travel the length and breadth of this country to make and remake the case. But ultimately, this is your story.

Every friend you tell about us. Every message you forward on, on our behalf. It all counts. Let us be your choice, to Change Your Future in a real way.