Thu, 22 Feb 2018 09:07:19 +0000
By MUKOSELA KASALWE
TRUCKS laden with over 12,000 tonnes of the mukula tree logs worth more than K75 million were confiscated as of December last year, says Lands and Natural Resources Minister Jean Kapata.
Ms Kapata told Parliament on Tuesday, in response to a question for oral answer from Chifubu Member of Parliament Frank Ngambi, that the total value of logs confiscated since December 31, last year was K 75, 350,400 and that the price for mukula logs was $600 per ton.
The minister said the highlighted price was dependent on the quality of the logs and other incidental costs associating with exporting the commodity.
Ms Kapata said as one of the measure to curb the illegal harvesting of the mukula trees the government had earmarked to employ 245 forest range guards over a duration of five years.
She said government would extend the operation of the defence and security wings to North-Western and Western provinces where illegal cutting of the mukula tree had been observed.
“Mr Speaker, in order to secure the logs and avoid total loss of value, the government has engaged the Zambia Forestry and Forest Industries Corporation (ZAFFICO) to mop up the illegally harvested mukula logs and export them where the market for mukula logs is readily available,” she said.
Ms Kapata said government issued an amnesty to concession licence holders who had legally harvested the mukula tree species before the ban on June 13, 2017 to move the mukula logs to safe places and warehouses to avoid wastage due to exposure to adverse weather conditions such as rains and sunlight.
She said to supplement measures aimed at combating the illegal harvesting of the commodity, government was in the process of appointing honorary forest officers to beef up human resources for effective forest policing.
Ms Kapata said the ministry, working with defence and security wings, had continued to impound truckloads of illegally harvested mukula logs and surcharged appropriate penalties in line with the Forest Act number 4 of 2015 to a fine not exceeding 100,000 penalty units or imprisonment to a term not exceeding two years or to both.
